One Day You Will
by DESTINYSARA
Summary: S#4 Sequel to Named By Fate. Tensions run high as Destiny struggles to make sense of this new world as the future flies towards her. She feels lost as she tries to find her place in this time. As the predicted Judgement Day comes closer she begins to feel hopeless in stopping the war. Destiny can't help but wonder what will happen to her own existence if the future is changed.
1. Prologue

_Down the road the sun is shining_

In every cloud there's a silver lining

Just keep holding on (just keep holding on)

And every heartache makes you stronger

But it won't be much longer

You'll find love, you'll find peace

And the you you're meant to be

I know right now that's not the way you feel

But one day you will

(Lyrics from One Day You Will)

April 4th, 2017

John bent down picking Destiny up and slung her onto his back. She squealed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck. Laughing to himself, he made sure she was securely in place and made a mad dash down the tunnel. After 200 feet, John turned a corner and stopped. An unknown resistance fighter stood in the center of the tunnel. The man was nearly 6 foot tall and looked down of John. Slowly, John pulled Destiny from his back and cradled her to his chest. "John Connor?" The man asked with a blank expression. John shielded Destiny the best he could and ran back the way he came. The machine raised the gun in right hand and fired at John, hitting the back of his leg. The noise of the gun made Destiny scream. John winced and turned the corner and raced down the hall, checking the various doors aligning it. All were locked. He turned around to see the machine advancing on them. Suddenly the ground began to shake violently and Destiny fell out of bed.

March 14th, 2010

Stunned, Destiny looked up at Cameron from the floor. "What the hell?" she asked.

"Sarah asked me to wake you."

"Gee thanks for the wake up call." Destiny said annoyed.

"You're welcome." Cameron replied and left the room.

Destiny scowled and reluctantly untwisted the comforter that was wrapped around her and got up. After she went downstairs, Destiny entered the kitchen and drug herself to the table where John was sitting, doing his homework. She sat down and put her down on the table a little too quickly. "oww." She muttered. John cracked a smile and went back to his homework. After a moment, she raised her head and looked at the window at Amy and Derek practicing combat training. Destiny sighed.

A faint pattern of heels on a tiled floor grew louder till it was nearly on top of her. "Mom?" John asked confused and Destiny perked up. Sarah rattled around in her bag, pulling out her cell phone. A normal thing to do but what wasn't normal was that she was in a dress instead of her usual tank and pants combo. Destiny turned confused to John who sent her a confused look of his own. "Um, Mom? What's with the getup?" He asked.

"Parent- Teacher Conference." She smirked. Destiny frowned and John returned to his homework. Taking her keys into her hand, Sarah gave the kids one last look before she left. "Derek and Amy are in charge while I'm gone."

"I hate babysitters." Both John and Destiny muttered simultaneously.

After a brief look between them, John went back to his homework and Destiny pulled her sketchpad to her and began coloring. "Do you have a lot of babysitters in the future?" John asked

Not looking up, she answered. "35."

John looked up stunned. "What?"

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Over 16 years. Not all at once."

John frowned. "They quit?"

Destiny grinned. "No one lasted more than a few weeks. I was an evil little kid." She laughed.

Sarah filtered through the John and Destiny's schedules. Luckily they shared most classes so she didn't need to repeat. Out of the seven, only two were apart. John had gym which Sarah listed to be the last class to visit before she went home. She moved on down to Destiny's last class, art.

The teacher was already speaking to the crowd of parents that surrounding her, pointing out several pieces of work and naming the students whom created them. Sarah stood in the second row of surrounding parents and pretended to listen to the welcoming speech while checking out the many faces of the crowd. A woman in her 40s' kept asking questions and the teacher sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mrs. Sanders?"

Sarah turned to look at her. The woman with faint red hair smiled. "I would like to know who won the creativity contest for this month."

"Oh, yes." The teacher mumbled and flipped to the last page of her speech. "The winner for this week is um, Destiny Sanders." Mrs. Sanders' smile faded and Sarah snapped her head up.

"Your daughter has won 30 extra credit points for the week, Ms. Sanders." The teacher nodded bored to Sarah and went back to consulting the questioning parents. Sarah nodded back. Mrs. Sanders pursed her lips for a moment and went back to smiling. She extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Adalyn Sanders. Racheal's my daughter." She said to Sarah, nodding at the painting to her left.

Sarah smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Sarah Sanders, Destiny's mine."

"Oh, congrats. Racheal's been the top of her class since she was about 8. It's nice to see a new face. Perhaps she'll give Racheal a run for her money, teach her a few tricks."

Sarah smiled. "Well, we'll see. I didn't even know she could paint. She didn't get that from me." She mused. Adalyn smiled.

Destiny drew circles on her paper aimlessly before looking over her shoulder towards the living room. John was done with his homework and was watching tv, rolling his eyes every few minutes at Amy who was trying like hell to annoy Tyler but settled for John instead. Tyler was trying to take a nap in one of the chairs while Amy sat on the floor and tried to badger Tyler into drinking a beer. Destiny turned around to look for Derek and found him sitting in the other chair. Cameron was nowhere to be seen but that was usual. Destiny quietly got up and went around to the back of the house and quietly slipped out the door. Taking a deep breath, she scanned the street for observers. Finding no one, she moved to the trees. Checking over her shoulder, she found a maple tree touching the side of the house and climbed into it.

Sarah drove home slowly. A glance at the clock and picked up her phone and dialed. "John, I'm going to be late. Can you handle dinner? Just order pizza or something, I'm following something." Sarah snapped the phone shut and concentrated on the car in front of her. Slowly, the little black car turned its signal on and turned left onto a driveway. Sarah drove by but stopped at the neighbors' house and observed. Adalyn Sanders got out of the car and walked to the front door. As she reached to open it, it opened by itself and a young girl came outside. Adalyn took a look at the girl's appearance and frowned. "Racheal, I thought I told you to not come outside with no shoes on. That's why your socks are impossible to get clean." The girl grinned and rolled her eyes. Sarah stared for a moment till they went in and sighed as she pulled out of the neighbor's drive.

John closed his phone and frowned before returning his eyes to the tv.

"Who was that?" Derek mumbled .

"Mom. She wanted me to take care of dinner. She won't be back till late."

Derek nodded then rolled his eyes as Amy clamped Tyler's nose with her thumb and index finger. Tyler startled awake and began grumbling inaudibly. Annoyed, John left the living room to go into the kitchen. Frowning, he noticed the table was empty as he placed the order. A moment later, he returned to the living room which was now empty. John frowned confused. Destiny yawned and climbed down from the tree and went inside. John perked up and went to the backdoor. Raising her hands, Destiny laughed. "Just me." John relaxed and smirked. Destiny rolled her eyes and walked off into the kitchen. A flash of light from outside alerted them that Sarah was home. A moment later, she opened the door a came inside. Destiny sat down and went back to coloring. Sarah set her purse on the counter and began shuffling though papers from today's event when someone knocked on the door. Instinctively, Sarah clutched her gun as John hid off to the side.

Destiny smirked. "It's just the pizza guy."

"Get over here." Sarah seethed.

Destiny sighed and went to stand behind Sarah. Amy came out from the living room and strolled up to the front door. With a quick move, she opened it. Amy turned to Sarah and smirked as she handed a $20 bill to the boy in exchange for a pizza box. Shutting the door with her foot, she set the box on the table and walked. " Saving the day from the pizza boy. How uncliché." 


	2. Chapter 1: Edge Of Seventeen

April 4th, 2017

Stranded at the end of the tunnel, John tightened his grip on Destiny and looked into her green eyes before looking back up at the machine. Tightly, he closed his eyes and hung his head. A moment later, a blur of red knocked John against a wall and Destiny flew out of his arms, hitting her head on the wall. Amy pulled John up and shielded him as she threw him down the tunnel where she had come. Destiny sat up and screeched at the top of her lungs. John paused and turned back to get her as Amy stubbornly pulled him away. "There's no time, John. You gotta go." John shoved her against the wall and turned back for Destiny as the shadow of the terminator grew on the walls. The machine looked down at the toddler.

 _"Subject Identified: Destiny Connor_

 _Threat: None_

 _Target is not a priority"_

Looking back at John, it proceeded after him leaving Destiny screaming on the floor. "You see? She's not a threat to it. It's after you." Amy pressed. John glared at the machine that in turn raised its gun and fired, nicking his right arm. John gasped and looked at his arm. "Are you happy now? You're just getting yourself hurt. Move it!" Amy yelled and drug John down the tunnel as the machine followed after them. Destiny continued to sob and pulled herself to her feet.

Stubbornly, she managed to walk back down the tunnel they had come from, falling a few times. Her fifth fall resulted in a scrap across her knee and she went back crying. There was a noise of scraps and rocks being turned over, followed by footsteps and voices. Destiny cried louder.

"See, I told you I heard something." A boy said.

"Yeah, fine. Where is it coming from?" The other asked.

"How about that?" The boy nodded to Destiny as they turned the corner.

The older boy looked down at Destiny then around the tunnels. "Think someone left her here?" he asked.

"I don't know." The boy said, bending down to Destiny's level. Carefully, he picked her up and placed her on his hip. A quick examination of her head and he discovered a knot on her head and some dried blood. Turning to look at the older boy. "Derek, she's hurt."

Derek nodded. "Better bring her back with us." Destiny rested her head on Kyle's shoulder.

March 21st, 2010

Destiny curled up with her comforter and tried to return to her dream. Sarah frowned and looked at the clock which read noon. She had sent Cameron to wake John and Destiny. So far she had seen John mope around downstairs doing his homework. Destiny had yet to come downstairs which wasn't odd since she preferred to stay in her room but she was being very quiet. Her attention shifted when she saw Cameron come downstairs alone. "Where's Destiny?"

"She's asleep." Cameron replied.

"I told you to wake her hours ago."

"Future John lets his daughters sleep late on their birthdays." Cameron stated as she reached the bottom step.

Sarah looked perplexed. "Birthday?" She asked quizzically.

"Destiny Sarah Connor, born March 21st, 2014." Cam answered.

Sarah sighed deeply and nodded. A clicking of the door, averted Sarah's attention. Amy came in the backdoor. Sarah grabbed her handgun. Amy raised her hands. "Just me, relax."

Sarah rolled her eyes and lowered her gun. "What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping off some new leads." Amy indicated to the papers in her hand.

Sarah snatched the papers and shuffled through them. "Knew that, knew that, knew that a bit differently, didn't know that. You're slipping, Adams."

"You're annoying, Ma'am." Amy muttered. Sarah glared and Amy smirked.

Destiny silently got out of bed and searched for her laptop. After she booted it up, she began searching a googled version map of L.A. Something caught her eye. Century City Mall. A Skynet Camp? Skynet's most famous work camp located right here in L.A. Of course now it was merely a mall. Destiny chuckled at how ironic it was. A pop in her earplugs alerted her that someone had signed on her IM list. Checking on her profile, meebo, the IM network went down. "Son of a Bítch! I hate technology! Hate it!"

Sarah looked at the ceiling. "I believe she's up."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Perfect."

Destiny checked her window and looked down the street. Silently she opened her window and climbed down. She spotted Tyler sitting on the roof across the street. She crept to the edge of the woods, aware of the slightest movement of his figure. It didn't matter, he had seen her she was sure. He saw everything. She sat down just inside of the woods and pretended to be thinking. She had to make him think she was gonna stay there. The moment he focused on a car coming down the street, she got up and ran through the trees away from the house. _"Freedom! Finally. Freaking Freedom!"_ Destiny thought. Reaching for her cell phone, she scrolled down her address list till she hit a particular number. She dialed the number and waited for the ring. "Hey, Hannah? Wanna go to the mall? Turns out I am free today."

Sarah sighed and dug through her purse. Pulling out three $10s, Sarah handed it to Cam who in return looked confused. "I need you to pick up a cake, and this time try not to revert to your old programming and try to kill everyone in the house." She added with a smirk. Cameron nodded and left through the backdoor.

"What do we need a cake for?" A voice called from behind. Sarah turned to see John standing in the kitchen.

"Apparently, It's Destiny's birthday." John looked confused and then nodded.

Amy choked on her beer and laughed. "That's right. The lil princess is 17 now." She laughed again and went outside.

Sarah sighed and went upstairs, when she got past Destiny's room, she knocked and looked in. The room was empty. Sarah frowned and checked around. She rushed downstairs and went outside. She looked around the yard and nearby trees. "Mom! Your phone is ringing!" John shouted from inside. Sarah ran inside and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Kid ran down the street about 15 minutes ago." Tyler answered.

"And you didn't stop her!?"

Tyler snorted. "C didn't send me here to babysit."

Sarah threw her hands in the air out of frustration. "She's impossible."

Tyler saw her through the window and chuckled. "Your genes, Connor. Not mine."

Furiously, Sarah shut her phone and grabbed her keys. "Where the hell would she go? John?"

John shrugged. "I don't know, Mom. I don't know her."

Amy bit her lip. "But you do, John. She thinks like you. You're two of a kind. Where would you go?"

John frowned. "I went to see Charlie once. When I took off, I wanted to see a familiar face."

Sarah frowned. "John and me are both here. So is, Tyler, Derek, Roberts and you. Who's missing?" She said looking at Amy.

"Amy pondered. "Her sister and her mother but they're not here in this time." Amy shrugged.

Sarah looked up. "Her mother is."

John rolled his eyes. "Like we know where or who her mother is."

Destiny gazed in wonder at Century City mall. I was nothing like the future. It was colorful and full of life. A woman passed by next to her a bumped her on the arm, waking her from her trance. Destiny mumbled an apology as Hannah pulled her through the crowd.

"Isn't this awesome?!" She squealed.

"It's something." Destiny mumbled. She looked at the faces of the crowd and tried to pick out those that she knew from the future. No one looked the same here.

Sarah drove by the Sander's home and stopped by it. She looked around it before staring at the windows and doors. Silence. Sarah frowned.

John stared out the passenger window. "I don't think she's there. I'm sure she knows better than to mess with the time lines."

"Knows better? John, she's a child and a stubborn one at that." Sarah rolled her eyes.

Destiny pushed her way through the crowds and grinned at Hannah whom stood on the rim of the fountain, smiling down at her. "Come up here." She said as she pulled her up to the ledge.

"I don't think this is a good idea!" Destiny yelled.

"Oh, what could happen?" Hannah retorted.

The lights of the mall flickered and dimmed till Destiny frowned and looked up.


	3. Chapter 2: Help, I'm Alive

April 4th, 2017

Kyle and Derek entered the main part of the civilian sector of the base and went to their private space. Kyle sat down first and placed Destiny on his lap. Derek looked around and sat next to his brother. "

We should find her parents or whoever she belongs to."

Kyle smirked and looked from Derek to Destiny. "Later, she's sleeping."

"She's not staying with us, Kyle. She has a home. No one would leave something like her out there alone."

A thunder of footsteps approached and Kyle tensed when he recognized the voice behind the barking of orders. Quickly, he ducked and hid his head in Destiny's hair. Derek gulped and Kyle raised his head to look up, right into the eyes of the Devil. Tyler turned his left hand away withought breaking contact with Kyle and Derek got up and left.

Tyler nodded to Destiny. "Where did you find her?"

"She.. she was in the tunnels by herself."

Tyler gritted his teeth. " There was a can in the tunnels, running freely. How stupid can you be? Playing around with scrap metal loose. " He fumed.

He shook his head. "C asked me to fetch you, so get your ass up." He ordered and gave one last glance at Destiny before turning on his heels and marching off with Derek and Kyle in tow.

March 21, 2010

Destiny looked up at the ceiling and carefully looked around the mall.

"Thunderstorm?" Hannah asked.

"I hope so. Come on." Destiny said as she drug Hannah up to the second floor.

Destiny kept peeking over her shoulder as she rode the escalator. Hannah got off first and went into the nearest store as Destiny hopped off and bumped into John. After a moment, he frowned at her and opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by the sounds of screaming. Destiny turned around to look downstairs. A part of the outer wall of the mall was burning. A silvery mass stood in the middle of the burning, Destiny grabbed John's arm and ran left. "Go!"

Sarah drew her gun at the sounds of electric sparking and screams.

Tyler positioned himself out in front. "Metal Juice." He muttered. "Grab the brats, I need to have a chat with the can."

Sarah rolled her eyes and dashed towards the stairs, making her way up to the second floor. Tyler marched forward up to the machine as it speared a local woman near it, taking her shape and letting her body fall to the floor. Tyler smirked as he threw the new shape against the wall. The machine paused for a moment before it spoke "Tyler Jess Devlin?"

He grinned and back away. " So now that you're all caught up, what's your decision going to be hmm? Fight or flee?"

The machine leaned off the wall, slithered to the floor and moved away. "aww, no fair." Tyler said patronizingly and followed it.

Sarah made her way upstairs and chased after the kids. "Move!" She yelled and shoved both teens towards the fire exit. Climbing down, Destiny, Sarah and John moved west to Sarah's SUV. John and Destiny climbed in the back seat while Sarah got in the driver's seat and gunned the engine.

"What about Devlin?" John asked.

"He knows his way home, John" Sarah answered.

"We should wait for him." John said.

"Leave him be, he'll be fine." Destiny answered."

How do you know?" John asked. "Because in a weird twisted way I know him and you. "

John stared at her. "You don't know my life."

Destiny smirked. "I live your life; because you did this to me, you could have not had me or gave me away. You could have given me a wonderful life, instead you gave me your life. You gave me your miserable life... spreading it around like a disease." Destiny sneered.

"Destiny, that's enough!" Sarah yelled from the front seat and focused to driving them home.

Destiny rolled her eyes and stared out the window.

October 7th, 2030

Katya screamed and threw her desk lamp at John. "Why?! Why did you do that? To her, to me, to mom, why?" she argued.

John ducked to avoid the flying lamp. "I had to, Kat."

"Did not! You didn't have to" She retorted sobbing and slumped against her bedroom wall.  
Racheal walked down the tunnel towards Katya's room, planning some speech to her. Trying to find the right words to tell her daughter about Destiny withought completely breaking her heart. Hearing the noise, she picked up her speed and ran into the room, standing between John and Katya. John took a step forward but stopped when Racheal put up her hand. Racheal sighed and slowly walked over to Katya. She sat down on the floor next to her and silently cradled her. Katya nuzzled her face in Racheal's chest and sobbed.

March 21, 2010

Destiny sat on her bed and played with her laptop. She was IMing Hannah about her inability to hang out for the weekend. Destiny frowned when meebo hiccupped and kicked her offline. After trying to log back on 5 times, she gave up. Destiny sighed deeply at the thought of another birthday of being shot at. Meebo let her back online and as she re-opened her chat session, it kicked her again. "Moody little thing aren't you?" She muttered. "Who the hell invented this little twerp?" she asked as she opened a search engine. A few clicks later, she pulled up its history on Wikipedia and grabbed her laptop. Clicking down the stairs, she found Sarah looking at leads at the dining room table and she placed the laptop in front of her.

Sarah looked at the computer and then at Destiny. She began to close the lip. "I thought I made myself clear, no games, grounded remember?"

Destiny reached forward and pulled the lid back towards her. "I'm not playing around, I think I found something."

Sarah took another look at the screen. "Instant messaging? Nothing says Skynet like a good IM." She smirked.

"It's not just IMing. It's global communication and technology. It's software in most computers and phones."

"Destiny, …"Sarah started. "Nana, listen to me." Destiny whined. "It's technology with partnerships with other technology, it's a global tool and its sponsor is . Guess how many sister corporations it has? Two." She stated. "Three corporations by . That's three dots." Destiny said smugly.

"Nana?!" Sarah growled furiously, annoyance etched deep into her voice.

Destiny looked at her and saw the darkest clouds pack together over Sarah's head. She had made a crucial mistake; this was not her grandmother. Not yet anyways. This confrontation with the future to come would send Sarah on a rant, and by the look on her face things were going to be ugly extremely fast.

This Sarah was not her grandmother, who had mellowed some during the years of war, who had come to appreciate what little family she had left. This Sarah was still the young warrior-mother in the prime of her life with an enormous chip on her shoulder, who lived from day to day in the present with only one thought about the future ahead: stop Skynet from ever existing. This was not the Sarah Connor she had known back home. She missed her grandmother.

What could she possibly say to stop the coming storm that was hurricane Connor? She remembered the few times she had witnessed one of those, mostly directed at her father. He had become the center of her grandmother's famous rynos on occasion.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled in an apologetic fashion. "I… I forgot." Sarah looked at her sharply, in her piercing green eyes a cold and deadly stare. It was a look Sarah had in common with her father.

"That's always the fúcking problem with you future idiots… You are way ahead and yet you forget!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Damn right you didn't mean to," Sarah echoed. "You just do!"

There was no escaping this time. The storm was still building, and she could do was wait and ride it out. "You come here. Tell me things I have yet to do. And expect I'll simply accept it… Well, I don't! And I am not your nana!"

Destiny bit her tongue to keep herself from adding 'yet'. It would only make matters worse. For now it was best if she managed to keep quiet and not add fuel to the inferno. Deep sadness washed over her; she really missed her nana now. Her nana would never have gone off like this strange woman had. And her nana would most certainly never have made her feel like she was the smallest person in the world. Sarah had put her among Tyler, Derek and Amy. Three veteran fighters who would all stand up and weather this storm.

Destiny's eyes widened and backed away from Sarah whom still had murder in her eyes. Turning slightly, she walked quickly into the living room. She jumped at the sudden chuckle that came from behind her. "Category 5 hurricane huh?"

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Funny Derek."

He smirked. A bang at the door, alerted Sarah , John and Cameron to the living room where Tyler was dragging a body through the door.

"What is that?" Sarah demanded.

"Triple 8, I caught on the way home from my meeting with other can."

Cameron left for the kitchen and came back with a knife and screwdriver in tow. Cutting into the head, she pulled the scalp back and used the screwdriver to open it. A popping sound was made and then a crackling noise as she pulled the chip out.

John examined the burnt chip. "What the hell did you do to it?""

" chip destroyed itself when I opened the port covering." Cameron answered

"So this one's been programmed with a self-destruct feature." Derek concluded.

"Skynet must not want me reprogramming in the future." John summarized.

"Hell none of us want that." Amy answered.

"And why is that?" John asked annoyed.

"It makes the people afraid.. of your intentions." Cameron chimed in.

Amy scoffed. "It makes us wary to trust you if you're working with them, relying on them not us."

" I need them ." John insisted.

" and what? We're just warm bodies? You sending them and working with them makes us wonder if we can trust you" "Amy growled.

"I built the resistance." John said smugly.

"Yeah because I helped you!" Amy yelled.

"What makes you think John needs help?" Sarah asked.

"Oh so I can go then?" Amy glared.

"Feel free." Sarah said as she waved to the door.

"I sent them back because humans can't be replaced. That's all." John said proudly. "

Amy pointed her finger. "No. No, John. That is not all. You trust them, you confide in them. There is one in every base and little miss bîtch over has flipped 3 times already and yet you keep her because you "need her." Amy quoted with her fingers. "It makes us wonder whose side you're really on, John."

"My son doesn't work for Skynet." Sarah gritted her teeth.

"Really? Well that thing…. Cameron beat the crap out of your son's pregnant wife, making her lose her child and John chose Cameron over his family. So what the hell is the point of fighting against the machines when we work with them?" Amy stated.

"It wasn't the kid that Skynet was after. Wasn't a person yet." John said.

"So what you're saying is my brother didn't matter, he wasn't a person yet." Destiny piped up. " Well I haven't been born yet, I don't exist yet. Am I not a person? Don't I matter?!" Destiny yelled from across the room and stormed out.

Ignoring her, Amy pressed on. "The resistance, John, its power comes from the core; The people in the military before Jay Day. People I introduced you to, who gave you a chance out of respect for me."

A scoff from behind made her turn sideways. "Right, because of you." Tyler snorted.

Amy pointed her finger at him. "Fúck off, Devlin!"

Derek pulled his hand down his face when he saw Tyler's eyes light up. "Perfect. Now you gave him an idea." He rolled his eyes.

"It's not going to happen, Reese." Amy glared. He smirked and disappeared out the door. Amy rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

John sighed and went out to the back porch where Destiny was sitting.

Sarah sighed when Cameron came in the back door with the birthday cake. "Nice to know you're still intact. You are aren't you?" Sarah asked, reaching for her gun.

"Everything's fine." Cameron said as she set the cake down and walked off.

"Not much of a birthday." Sarah said when she saw leaned in the doorway.

"She's had worse." Amy muttered.

Sarah nodded. "I bet."

John sat down on the porch next to her. "Go away, John." Destiny said, refusing to look at him.

"I didn't mean to not call you a person, you're living and breathing."

"Right." She snorted. He sighed and then laughed. Destiny looked at him as if he went mad.

"Come on, there's birthday cake that'll melt."He said and held out his hand. Taking it, he pulled her up and they went inside.

Sarah pulled away from the counter and started to take the cake out of the box. John opened the cabinets and took out the plates while Amy went to get Derek and Tyler from their glaring contest out back. Sarah went to cut the cake and serve it while John opened the sodas he got out of the fridge. When he opened the Orange Crush bottle, It began to sprinkle orange soda on the cake icing. Derek shut it off and went to wash his hands. Letting it settle, John opened it again and the bottle spewed up and on Derek. Sarah rolled her eyes and Destiny and Amy snickered. Derek turned around and looked at John who avoided eye contact. Sarah left to get a mop as Derek watched her leave. When she was gone, He went back to washing his hands and grabbed the sprayer. With one quick shot, he sprayed John head to toe.

John smirked and sloshed more soda at Derek earning a bigger giggle from Destiny. Derek turned and sprayed Destiny. She grinned and remained quiet when Sarah came back with the mop. After mopping between the counter and sink, she passed out a piece of cake for everyone. She took her plate and walked out of the small space and slipped, landing on her back. The cake smeared her forehead and her hairline. Derek and John moved quickly to help her up while Amy and Destiny rolled on the floor in laughter.

Sarah pulled herself up and glared at Destiny. Derek and John looked down at them and pulled them up. John started to laugh when Derek smashed a paper plate with cake in his face. Destiny grinned. Amy grabbed her cake and smashed it in Derek's face. John grabbed his piece and aimed to throw it at Amy when Destiny got her first. She winked at John. He lowered his throwing arm till Destiny looked down when he smashed his cake in her face. The plate slid off and fell in the floor when Destiny wiped the icing out of her eyes and stuck out her tongue at John.


	4. Chapter 3: I Still Believe

April 4th, 2017

Tyler stormed down the tunnels with Kyle and Derek tailing him. Destiny began wake and lifted her head off his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her as she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled. She giggled at his wince. Derek grumbled behind him. "Get a move on, would you?" Tyler demanded and led them past the secure sector.

John sat in the control center, patching up his leg while Racheal patched up his arm. John sighed. "I'm sorry that your mad, Racheal. You should be mad. I shouldn't have left her there, but I don't believe it would have hurt her."

Racheal kept quiet and continued patching. Sarah stood off to John's side.

"It wouldn't have hurt her, not with John there." She said.

Racheal stopped patching and looked at Sarah. "What? They have some sort of emotional understanding?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, but they won't waste time with a secondary target if the primary target is in full view."

Racheal sighed. "Nice to know there's a chance. Shame we didn't have Adams check the CPU before she took the body away to be burned. We could know for sure… Where is she? She should be back by now."

"I'm right here." She said as she walked into the room. "And I'm not alone." She grinned.

Tyler came in behind her. John smiled smugly at Tyler. "Devlin, do you have him?" Tyler stepped aside. Derek came upfront first and Kyle stepped in behind him.

March 22nd, 2010

Destiny pulled out art book out from her locker and walked to class. She entered the classroom and took her seat at her table, smiling faintly to herself when she remembered the cake fight from her birthday yesterday. She had expected it to be a disaster but it turned out rather funny until she and John caught the look on Sarah's face and were forced to clean up the mess. She stifled a giggle.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Miss Sanders?" The teacher asked.

"Um, nope." Destiny answered sweetly. He frowned and returned to reading the announcements.

"Now, we're going to start our first group project so I want all of you to get into groups of two for the midterm project. It will be half of your course grade as well as participation points. As her classmates began shifting toward the people they were seated next to, Destiny glanced at the empty chair beside her and raised her hand. "I don't have a partner." She mumbled.

"She can be my partner." A girl spoke up from the back of the room. Destiny turned her head to see a red-haired girl smiling sweetly at her. Grabbing her book and bag, she moved to the back to sit next to the girl. "I'm Racheal." She said.

"I'm Destiny." She mumbled.

"So I was thinking since we're both the top two of the class, we should be able to beat everyone else. Tagteam." Racheal winked.

"Nice." Destiny grinned and took out her portfolio.

Racheal glanced through it." I like the colors. Perfect originality. Who woulda thought a dark world would be so beautiful, very nightmarish. Hey, the project is over dreams. How lucky are we?" She smiled.

John and Cameron waited outside the school for Destiny who slowly came outside tailed by Racheal. John frowned towards them. Destiny moved quickly towards John and Cameron, hoping to lose Racheal in the process. "Hey, wait up." She called and ran faster.

"You forgot this." Racheal said and handed the portfolio back to Destiny.

"Oh, thanks." She muttered.

"So, I was thinking that maybe you could come over next week to work on the project?" Racheal asked hopefully.

"Um, I'd have to ask my mom."

Racheal nodded. " I'm sure she'll say yes, I would." She grinned at John and then took off towards a black car in the parking lot.

"You're not my mother yet." Destiny mumbled before she walked towards the car.

John looked at her curiously. "What was that about?"

Destiny shrugged. "My art partner slash mom."

John turned around and stared back at where Racheal went.

Destiny stopped and turned around. "Stop that. You're looking at my mom like some creepy stalker would. It's gross."

John rolled his eyes. "Well, I.. her…you know. We get together someday."

"Yeah, that's gross too."

"You're one to talk. You're the result." John snapped.

Destiny stopped in her tracks , flabbergasted as he pasted her. "Hey!"

John smirked.

Destiny stormed through the front door and tossed her bookbag in the corner. Sarah looked up from folding laundry on the kitchen table. "Rough day?"

"Your son is stalking my mother."

"I was not." John growled and closed the front door behind him.

"Not surprised that he is. Racheal's something all right." Tyler muttered from across the room. Destiny looked darkly at him and stormed off.

"Awww, can't stand that your mom is a looker? Or that you don't resemble her?" Tyler teased. Destiny sneered back at him and he chuckled.

Destiny sat in her room and tried to paint the gloomy world from her past. Frustrated, she crumpled the paper in her hands, threw it in the overflowing trashcan and covered her face in her hands. Annoyed, she got up and marched downstairs to the dining room where Sarah was working on leads. She stopped when Destiny entered the room.

"You may not be my grandmother yet, but you are the smartest person I know." She smiled weakly. Sarah looked up at her quizzically. Destiny sucked in a deep breath before she managed to look at her.

"John has a crush on my art partner."

Sarah put down her pencil. "I'm sure he'll move on in a few weeks time. Nothing for you to stress out about and call a meeting." Sarah smirked.

"He's my….. he will be my dad. She's going to be my mom. He won't move on. You don't believe in Fate and yet it's staring you right in the face. Welcome to the future….Nana." Destiny said smugly.

Sarah's eyes took on a murderous glare just before a loud knocking at the front door.

"Destiny? It's Racheal open up." Destiny took a step back from Sarah and shook her head.

"I'll get it!" John announced as he flew down the stairs.

"No, you won't."Destiny muttered and raced towards the door.

Sarah sighed deeply and rubbed her temples."Since when do I have two children?"

John and Destiny collided on the first floor in front of the door.

Racheal opened the door and grinned. "Wow. I thought I was talented with falling up the stairs but you guys have me beat."

Destiny smirked. "Yeah, Rach, I know."

Racheal helped Destiny to her feet while John managed to pull himself up. "So, I brought my sketchpad and some cardboard. I didn't know what we'd need for the project so I kind of over did it." Racheal blushed.

Destiny smiled and lead her to the kitchen. "That's cool, come on lets gets started." She gave one last warning look to John as he shut the door.

He held his arms out at his sides."What?" Destiny shook her head and followed after Racheal.

Racheal distributed the supplies and both girls set to work. Racheal began drawing happy pictures, paintings of butterflies and fireflies circling the sun and the moon. Destiny painted silently painted the haunting images of her home, her memories and of the dreams of her impending death.

Sarah had walked away from the table when the girls came in but now she came back in and grabbed her keys off the table in front of Destiny and froze. Destiny looked up at Sarah who was staring intently at her drawing she was painting. Racheal stopped painting and looked across at Destiny's nightmarish picture.

"She's good isn't she?"Racheal beamed. "Though I think she could use some cemetery details to go with her robot skeletons." She smiled.

Sarah looked up from the painting to Racheal and simply nodded before she left. Destiny shrugged it off and went back to work. A creaking noise erupted from the ceiling followed by a sliding noise.

Destiny frowned and got up. "I'll be right back." Racheal smiled and went back to her work.

Destiny went up the stairs as John left his room.

"Wasn't you?" Destiny asked him quizzically.

He shook his head. "Nope."

Both continued down the hall as the noise got louder and louder. They stopped at the guest room and quietly opened the door partway. Sticking their heads on each side of the opening, they looked inside for a brief moment before John pulled Destiny back and quickly closed the door. Destiny covered her face and John burst out laughing.

"I think I'm blind." Destiny muttered before she and John laughed. "Never knew Tyler was that caring." She giggled.


	5. Chapter 4: Time Of Our Lives

April 4th, 2017

The room became still and silent. John stood up and took a few steps forward, his eyes flickering between Kyle and Destiny. Racheal steadily walked over to Kyle and gently touched Destiny's back.

She perked up and turned to look at her. "Hi Mommy."

Racheal smiled and picked her up as Kyle handed her over. "She has a bump on her head and a few cuts in her leg, Ma'am."

Racheal thumbed through Destiny's hair till she winced. "Sorry." She mumbled. Racheal looked down at Kyle and smiled. "Thank you." She swung Destiny to her hip and walked back to the offices. She shot John a warning look and continued on. He went over to Kyle and bent down to his level. Kyle inclined his head to meet John eyes.

March 25, 2010

Destiny woke to a pair of red eyes staring at her and she screamed at the top of her lungs. Cameron took a step back as Sarah ran into the room with her gun drawn.

"What did you do to her?" Sarah demanded.

"I did nothing to her. She's simply dreaming." Cameron responded as she left the room.

Sarah stuck her gun back to its usual place at the back of her jeans and walked over to shake Destiny. Slowly she opened her eyes. "I was screaming wasn't I?" Sarah nodded. "I'm sorry." She muttered as she pulled the pillow over her head.

"Bad dream?" Sarah asked.

"Horrible memory is more like it."

"Want to talk about it?" Sarah pressed.

Destiny simply shook her head. "Nothing to say. Dad made a mistake when I was little and it nearly killed us both. Just need to bury the memory deeper, that's all."

"It'll come back again."

Destiny removed the pillow from over her head and repositioned it under her arms. "So I'll bury it deeper and deeper each time."

Sarah shook her head. "You're very stubborn. No idea where you learned that."

Destiny smiled. "I could make a couple of guesses."

Destiny shut her locker fiercely and jumped back when she saw Racheal grinning at her. "Ready to go?"

Destiny looked confused. "What?"

"My house, after school, art project, remember?" Racheal smiled.

"What?" said a voice behind her.

Destiny turned and John and Cameron materialized behind her.

"You didn't ask your mom did you?" Racheal said let down.

"No, but its fine."

"Mom wouldn't like that very much." Cameron chimed in.

Destiny inclined her head. "Mom can deal with it, I'm doing school work with my….. friend." She sneered and turned swiftly following Racheal out.

John caught her arm. "You're going to be in a lot of trouble."

Destiny smiled. "Trouble is my middle name."

"No, it isn't. Your middle name is Sarah." Cameron stated.

Destiny pulled her hand down her face and looked John in the eyes. "My dad taught me that if you want something you have to fight for it. This is me fighting for an afternoon withought a single thought of Skynet. So if you'll excuse me." She said and jogged back after Racheal.

November 8th 2030

Racheal paced back and forth, running her hands through her hair in frustration and glaring at John every few steps.

"Racheal…" He started to say but what cut off by the glare she sent him. "Racheal." He sighed.

"I want her back." Racheal said firmly and looked him in the eyes.

"I know but…"

"I …want… her… back." Racheal said gritting her teeth.

Sarah came from a connecting tunnel and stopped a few feet outside the room where John and Racheal were arguing. "What's going on?" She asked Katya sitting close by.

"Mom is giving dad hell about Destiny." Sarah nodded.

March 25, 2010

Racheal opened the front door and walked in with Destiny behind her. "Mom, I'm home!" Racheal turned to Destiny and smiled. "Make yourself at home."

Destiny smiled back and walked over to the kitchen table and began pulling out her supplies. A woman with faint red hair came into the room followed by Racheal. She smiled warmly at Destiny.

"My name's Adalyn Sanders, I'm Racheal's mother. It's nice to finally meet you."

Destiny returned the smile. "I've waited a long time to meet you."

"If you two need anything let me know." Adalyn said and went to answer the phone. Both girls set to work.

Sarah frowned when John and Cameron came to the car withought Destiny.

"Where's she at?"

"She ran off with Racheal to work on their art project." John sighed and leaned his head against the headrest.

" We should go get her." Cameron stated.

"My thoughts exactly." Sarah said and put the car in drive.

Destiny laid out another painting to dry. Racheal looked up and smiled. "Another one done? Wow, you're on a roll."

Destiny smirked. "Been dreaming a lot lately."

Racheal nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"What are yours about?" Destiny asked. Suddenly there was a knocking on the front door. Racheal frowned and got up.

Adalyn came into the living room. "Expecting someone else?" She asked Racheal.

"It's probably my mom. I didn't ask permission so she'll drag me home." Destiny said as she got up and packed her things. "See you around, Racheal. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanders."

She said and went to the front door before it was kicked open. A woman walked in and peered around the room with steely cold stare. She focused on Destiny then refocused on Racheal and began to walk towards her.

Adalyn got over her shock. "Hey!"

Destiny dropped her supplies and grabbed Racheal by her, pulling her with her as she ran back into the kitchen and out the back door with the T-1000 in pursuit. Adalyn ran towards the living room and grabbed the phone.

Sarah sat at a stoplight and sighed. "What is the matter with her? You were never this difficult."John shrugged from the passenger seat. Sarah looked him up and down. "What's gotten into you?"

John shrugged again. "Just wondering what future me did to keep her in check."

"Future you had a hard time managing her as well. He tried many different things. None worked with her." Cameron said, staring out the window.

John snorted. " wild child." His phone beeped and he frowned. "Mom, you better step on it."

"The light is still red, John." John took his phone and held it up for Sarah to see. Sarah looked at the screen and punched the gas petal. "God damn it."

Destiny and Racheal jumped over the back fence and into the street. "What does she want from us?!" Racheal screamed as they darted out in front of a car.

"It! Not she, it! It's a machine from the future and it's trying to kill us… well, mainly you right now."

Racheal stopped in the middle of the street. "What?! That's crazy, You're crazy!"

"I'm not the one standing in the middle of a busy highway." Destiny countered.

Racheal dodged an oncoming car. Destiny pulled her phone out and texted another 911 to John. "Come on, we're gonna go to my house, we should be somewhat safe there."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you, not until I get some answers."

Destiny shrugged. "You can stay here with the serial killer if you want or you can follow me back and get some answers." Racheal fumed and followed her reluctantly.

Sarah swerved around another corner. "Where the hell would she be? John help me look."

John pointed. "They're right there."

Sarah stomped on the brakes as Cameron opened the back door.

Destiny jumped in and held out her hand for Racheal. "Come with me if you want to live." Racheal froze for a minute then jumped in, shutting the door behind her.

Sarah glared at Destiny from the rearview mirror. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was? You could've gotten both of you killed."

Destiny smirked. "Save me the speech, she's going to pieces." She nodded to Racheal shaking next to her.

Sarah tightened her hands on the steering wheel and hit the gas petal.


	6. Chapter 5: Welcome To The Future

March 25th, 2010

Racheal sat at the Connor's kitchen table and shook. Destiny sat on the counter and ran her hand through her hair over and over as John paced by the fridge. Sarah came back into the kitchen and observed the situation.

"Still no change?" she asked. Destiny shook her head.

"Skynet, machines, time-travel, future spouses and kids. You're all fúcking crazy! Everyone one is crazy!" Racheal yelled as she stood up. Destiny snickered and Racheal pointed at her. "And you're the craziest one of them all!" She yelled.

Destiny snorted. "Thanks, mom." She muttered hurt.

Racheal looked up at her stunned. John rolled his eyes and walked over to the table to sit down next to Racheal.

"Just imagine if you knew you were going to do something important someday. Something amazing. Maybe the most important thing anyone has ever done, but there's a catch, something terrible has to happen. You couldn't live with yourself if you didn't try to stop it. The life you know, all the stuff you take for granted, it's not gonna last." Racheal rested her head on her arms.

Tyler and Amy came through the back into the kitchen. Amy stopped and frowned at the scene. "Told her?"

"Dôh, she looks pale like a ghost and has a crazed look in her eyes. Of course, they told her. Too bad that it is only ten times worse than what they told her." Tyler grinned.

Amy smirked at Tyler. "Smartass."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Major pain in the ass is more like it."

Tyler glared at her. "Say something, Princess?"

"Nothing, half-breed." She smirked.

"He's human." Amy growled.

"Yeah a second rate human with his cyborg arm."

Tyler grabbed Destiny from the counter and threw her over his shoulder and marched towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked.

"Going to beat her ass." Tyler simply replied and went up the stairs.

Racheal rolled her eyes and sighed. "My mom is dead isn't she?"

Amy leaned against the counter. "Most likely."

"Is there no hope then?" Amy leaned away and put her hand on Racheal's shoulder. "There is always hope."

Derek sat in a car parked just off of the curb. He flipped through the keychains with his fingers as he waited. He had seen Cromartie go to the house and shoot the man whom had opened the door. He knew what was coming. Another death, another run in with the future, another life destroyed. Derek hung his head as he heard the sound of glass shattering. A teenage boy came rolling off the roof from the second floor as Derek switched from park to drive. The boy ran as fast as his legs could carry him with Cromartie chasing him through the neighbors' yards as Derek kept parallel with him as he ran in a zig-zag pattern to avoid being shot. He turned to see Cromartie aim again as he dropped to the ground. Cromartie missed and Derek opened the passenger door. "Get in, kid!"

The boy jumped in and laid down in his seat. "Who are you?"

"Derek."

The boy nodded. "I'm Tyler but everyone calls me TJ."

March 26th, 2010 Midnight

Sarah sat down at the table and thumbed through leads. She looked over at Racheal sleeping on the couch. It had been one hell of a day. They had kidnapped a teenage girl and Derek brought home a wounded teenage boy. Both had been targeted for termination based on who they were in the future. Both had been sat down and had had the future explained to them. Racheal had resorted to not speaking in her fragile state while TJ couldn't have been more excited, that he had known of the impending future and took the news with great enthusiasm. His reaction had shocked her.

She ran her hands through her hair. "Rough night?" a new voice asked.

Startled, Sarah grabbed her gun and pointed it at the lurking figure in the darkened doorway. The woman laughed and stepped into the light. She had fading red hair and calm, ocean eyes. The woman looked to be in her late 30s, a stranger but yet she couldn't help but look familiar. "

Adalyn?"

The woman smiled but shook her head and revealed a barcode tattoo on the inside of her right arm. Sarah lowered her gun and rolled her eyes.

"Another one. What is it about today? Did a memo go out that I didn't get or something?"

The woman grinned and laughed again. "If it is any comfort to you, I'm not only not staying but I'm actually to get my daughter back and then I'll leave you in peace."

Sarah frowned. "You said you weren't Adalyn."

The stranger smiled. "I'm not. My name is Racheal…. And my daughter is Destiny."

Sarah and Racheal stared eye to eye for a few minutes. "You're my daughter in law?" she asked.

Racheal shrugged. "From where I come from, yes but that can always change. Depending on her of course."

She nodded to the redhaired sleeping girl on the couch. Sarah nodded and placed her gun back to the table.

The moonlight streamed into Destiny's room as Racheal tucked a strand of hair behind Destiny's ear. She ran her right hand down Destiny's back and breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled in her sleep and rolled over closer to Racheal. Racheal eased herself to lay down next to Destiny and pulled her tightly to her. With the back of her index finger, Racheal traced the line of Destiny's face. "I really thought she'd be dead. Didn't want it but I had expected her to be dead." Racheal whispered.

Sarah leaned against the door frame. "Do you have so little faith in us?"

"Not you, Sarah. You'd keep her safe..the rest are not as trustworthy."

Sarah nodded and walked away. Racheal looked back at Destiny, smiling she kissed her forehead and closed her eyes to sleep.


	7. Chapter 6: Jar Of Hearts

March 26th, 2010  
Racheal woke as the sun began streaming in, she took in Destinys' bewildered gaze. "Good morning." She whispered.

"Am I dreaming." Destiny asked looking around. Racheal shook her head no and grinned. Destiny blinked and sat up as Racheal did.

"Mom!." She cried and wrapped her arms around Racheal who laughed as she returned the embrace.

"You missed me afterall I suppose." She chuckled.

"Is dad..?" Destiny asked. Racheal shook her head no."

"Katya?"

Racheal shook her head again. "Only me."

Destiny sighed. Racheal smiled faintly and gently slapped her shoulder. "Come on, school."

"Ugh." Destiny sulked.

Racheal grinned. "And here you wanted to be with the normal people."

"They're naïve and materialistic."

"This is normal for this time. But your friends do like you for you and not your father here."

Destiny smirked. "I miss home though, the machines scared everyone away after the trip to the mall."

Racheal frowned and Destiny jumped up off the bed suddenly eager. "I got to get to school, see you later, mom." She said and dashed from her bedroom.

"We'll talk about this when you get back." Racheal called after her.

Racheal got up and slowly went down the stairs to the kitchen. Her present self was sitting on the couch as still as a statue. John grabbed his backpack and cautiously edged toward Racheal when she stood up to stand next to TJ. His eyes dropped to the floor next to the couch then back up at Cameron who was staring intently at the older Racheal. John traced Cameron's gaze to the older woman. Racheal stared at Cameron a moment longer then glanced at John before she stalked out the door. He gave his mother a quizzical look before leaving with Racheal and Cameron for school. Amy gave Derek a sly look and both exited.

Destiny slammed the locker door closed and jumped at Racheal's sudden appearance.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "I never got to thank you for yesterday."

"Don't mention it." Destiny muttered as she walked off to one of her classes. Racheal hung her head for a moment and jogged to catch up with Destiny.

"Can we talk?" Racheal asked.

Destiny stopped and turned to look at her. "About what?"

Racheal chewed on her lip. "Your mom."

Destiny shuffled her feet nervously. "You can ask her when we get back home. She can explain better than me."

Racheal's jaw dropped. "She's here too?"

Destiny smirked and nodded. "She came to take me back home I think. Or at least she came to check up on me."

Sarah stood against the kitchen counter as the older Racheal smugly leaned against the door post. "So what has happened since she's been here?" Racheal asked, breaking the silence.

Sarah took a moment to think. "We found her in November, the safehouse had been broken into, covered in destroyed furniture and glass. We found one body and then found her bleeding to death from a gunshot wound to the gut. Since we didn't have the ability or time to fix her ourselves, we let her be taken to a hospital. Not long after she broke out, found Amy and Amy brought her here. She's been here ever since, we put her ID in the system as one of ours and she's been having the life of a normal girl. Of course she complicates everything but running off to a trip to the mall or a friends' house."

Racheal nodded. "She did mention a trip to the mall."

"Yeah, she made quite a scene there. Ran off to Century with a friend and ran into some trouble." Sarah said.

Racheal frowned. "What kind of trouble?"

"A T-1000 showed up during her act of rebellion." Sarah answered and Racheal paled.

Quickly she looked at the clock and pulled away from the door post. "I need to get her out of here. If John's terminator is here and so is Destiny's then the two of them in the same place is beyond stupid and highly dangerous. You might as well stick a sign on the door saying they're here."

Sarah glared. "That was not my stupid idea. I never…."

"No, you didn't. John did." Racheal said.

"I did what?" John's voice asked from across the room.

Racheal and Sarah turned to see the four teens standing at the doorway. "Not you, future you." Racheal said.

"Yeah, future me does a lot it seems. Who are you?" John asked as the teenage Racheal wormed her way in between John and Destiny to stand in front of them.

"She's me." She said in awe. TJ looked between the younger version of Racheal and her future counter-part.

The older Racheal smirked and nodded. "Yes." Destiny smirked at the younger Racheal and went to stand next to her mother.

Destiny leaned against the kitchen counter to get a better look outside. Her mother and the younger Racheal were walking down the stairs to the yard. "Can I ask you something?" The girl asked.

"I suppose."

"Why are you here?"  
The older Racheal smirked. "I went to talk to my daughter and my husband asked if he could speak to her first. I agreed then I waited for about a half hour. No conversation could be that long and not important enough to not involve me. I simply went to find them and when I came back, another soldier told me she had been sent across time. She was gone withought my consent or knowledge. I didn't even get a damn goodbye."

John and TJ snuck to the porch and edged closer to the two Racheals, just out of sight.

"Oh. What will you do now?"

"I plan to take Destiny out of here, take her back to the future but mainly to keep her in an opposite place, apart from John."

The teen looked up. "Are you that mad at him?"

She smirked. "Not mad at this John but it is strategically unwise to place the top two on Skynet's list for this year both in the same house. Well, three if you count TJ."

The younger Racheal chewed her lip again and stopped walking. "Did you ever love TJ?"

The older Racheal stopped walking and turned to look at her younger self. "I thought I did once. He was so normal but I met who he would be and that changed my mind. He wasn't the person I wanted to be with…... What brought that on?"

Her younger self shrugged. "He's kinda cute I think. Plus he just seems more normal."

The older Racheal smirked. "He'll change very quickly though after he meets who he's meant to be."

"Oh." The teenager nodded.

The older Racheal laughed. "Remember something. This is your time, not mine. I have made my decision and I still stick with it but this is your choice. You get to pick... but think of all options and every category you can. You need to be sure about whichever one you choose, ...if either." Racheal said as she walked back to the house.

She glanced down at where John and TJ were hiding. "Some things never change." She muttered before entering the house.

John pushed away from TJ and followed the older Racheal into the house. TJ popped his head up and stared over at the teenage Racheal as she walked over to the swingset and sat down.

She looked up to the sky. A sad sigh escaped her. It was so extremely hard to keep her thoughts together, especially since each opportunity to get away from her was used. Everything had become so very complicated. Unable to adjust to the situation and the people involved, she had fled the house and had taken to the swing.

Another sigh escaped her before she thought about the woman she was destined to become.

"Hey, you okay?" A gentle voice asked from a few feet behind her.

Her heart got lodged into her throat and she began to startle all over. Quickly she glanced over her left shoulder to see TJ standing a few feet away from her; he looked somewhat self-conscious and was scratching himself behind his left ear. Her initial fear, if not panic, subsided and she relaxed a little. He was the first to come and see if she was okay, and that made him kind of endearing to her. Heat rose to her cheeks and she turned back quickly. She could not answer him without bursting into giggling, and she did not want him to think she was just some silly teenage girl, so she decided to keep quiet until she had enough grip on herself to be able to talk to him.

"I'm fine," she managed to say with a steady voice.

He chuckled wryly: "Saying it doesn't mean that you are."

He was right: she was far from fine. Everything she had ever known, every security in life she had had, had been taken away from her. Her mother, her home, her life.

"How can you be so okay with it, TJ?" She ventured to ask.

"Okay with what?"

"All this," she answered while she rose to her feet and turned to face him and the house.

He shrugged his shoulders: "I don't know. Maybe because my mother was from the future too? I had thought what she told me as bedtime stories were just... stories. And then all of this happened, and I realized she tried to warn me, prepare me for the things to come."

"But you sounded so happy with it. While it will all go to hell," she remarked. "And the future you is a mean bastard without any form of humility, as far as I can tell."

He nodded in agreement: "Yeah, he's something alright."

"Doesn't it bother you that you'll become him?" She asked curiously.

He crossed his arms and took a deep breath before answering: "No idea. I like the thought I will make a difference in the future, but I am not sure if I like the price I will have to pay."

"Same here," she agreed.

A slow, crooked smile spread across his face and she felt her heartbeat pick up. He looked like the cat who had just swallowed the canary.  
"Do you think we could change it?"

"Hmmm, I like to think so," he replied before he sat down on the grass. "Time is like a river, always moving, always changing. It can be wild or calm. Deep or shallow. Never the same."

"Seems like you gave it a lot of thought."

He looked down and plucked at the grass: "Not really. Just remembering something my mom once said to me."

She took her time to study him. It was the first time she could see any resemblance between TJ and the man he was going to be; the sadness of a known fate. Slowly she rose to her feet, walked over to him and sat down next time before putting an arm around his shoulder in comfort.  
He shrugged her arm off: "Hey, hey, now," he laughed, masking his embarrassment. "I came out here to see if you needed comfort, not the other way around."

His laughter worked contagious and she started to giggle. For someone who knew his destiny as well, he sure seemed upbeat. She gave him a playful push on the shoulder, earning a curious frown from him. Immediately her shyness around boys set in again. Why had she done that? He had to think she was just another stupid girl. But he was such a carefree person and she had felt at ease around him, enough to be silly and give him a push. Quite the opposite of John.

"Sorry," she muttered, feeling incredibly stupid all of a sudden.

She moved to get up but he pulled her back to him: "You owe me for that push," he grinned while he gave her a gentle push on the shoulder, that had her ending up losing her balance and falling over.  
"Ow," she faked being hurt

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Just like she had thought he would, he leaned over her to make sure that she was okay and not as badly injured as she had tried to make him believe. Now it was her turn to push him over, following him as he ended up on his back, she quickly sat on his lap and pinned his arms next to his head.

"Ha, fooled you," she laughed victoriously.

He struggled to break the pin for a minute but his resistance halted abruptly. She turned beet-red when she felt why. It was the first time in her life she was confronted with this kind of thing. After letting go of his arms, she sat up a little causing him to groan a little. "Don't move," he pleaded with her while he looked as miserable as could be.  
"Think it will go away then?" She giggled.

"Uhm, no," he muttered.

"So what do we do now?" She asked innocently. "

Wait it out?" He offered, his voice filled with hope.

"Is that gonna take long?"

He kept quiet and she could see the wheels in his mind turning. Only now she realised that what she had asked had a second meaning. The look on his face was one of misery and embarrassment. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

"Nope, gotta think of something nasty," he said slowly. A few minutes later, she was sitting next to him, fidgeting because she was unsure of what to do or what to say.

"Now that was not embarrassing at all," he commented.

She could hear the laughter in his voice and it brought a smile to her face. At least he could joke about it. She still wasn't sure whether she should feel flattered in some weird way or completely embarrassed.

"It just pops up whenever it feels like it," he continued. "Like an uninvited guest. Especially when there's a party with some bumping and grinding going on."

"Sheesh, TJ," she squeaked, unable to keep herself from giggling and giving him another playful push on the shoulder.

"Careful now," he laughed.

It was so cute that he was being so casual and funny about a very embarrassing moment. Before she even realized it, she leaned in and stole a kiss from him. He leaned back startled and brought his left hand up to scratch himself behind his left ear.  
 _"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."_ She chastised herself. What the hell had she been thinking? What had brought her to kissing him like that? He was cute. He did care. And he did have a wicked sense of humor. But was that a good reason to be as stupid as to kiss him?  
"I'm sorry," she muttered shyly.

He smiled again: "Don't be... It was not that bad," he said, emphasizing 'that'. "You just need a little more practice," he whispered.

This time he leaned in close slowly. His breath was warm when it blended with hers, just seconds before his mouth covered hers. She brought up her right arm and put it around his neck. A strange warm and fuzzy feeling ran through her. It certainly was not an unpleasant experience.


	8. Chapter 7: Just My Imagination

" _One of the hardest things in life is watching the person you love, love someone_ _else."_

"This is your future. This is your choice. I made my decision, it is your turn."

Her mother's words echoed in her mind. If her mother chose TJ over her father, she would never be. What would happen to her? Would she die at that moment, fade into nothing? The uneasiness weighed heavy on her mind. Seventeen year olds were meant to struggle with school, parents and dating. They were not meant to lay awake at night wondering if they'd be there the next day. Destiny looked down at her arms and legs that began to fade. She was becoming more invisible with every moment. Very soon she would become transparent then nothing. She dug her hands into her hair and screamed. She began to cry and looked up at John.

"This is all your fault!" She screamed at him. "You lied to me, you said you'd never hurt me. You promised!"

Her mother stood nearby, shocked by the sight of her daughter becoming see-through. Destiny looked to her for help. "I want my dad."She started to chant as she faded into thin air. Destiny tossed and turned. "I want my dad. I want my dad." She muttered and whined in her sleep. John left his room and proceeded down the hall to the stairs. He stopped outside Destiny's room and looked for the source of the noise.

Peaking in her room, he saw her tossing and turning in bed. Slowly, he went into her room and shook her shoulder. Immediately her muttered cries switched to screams.

"Hey now." John said and he shook her shoulder harder as she fought back against him.

Two more slaps at John and she rolled off the bed. Landing on the floor with a thud, she woke up and burst into tears. John pulled the blanket that was wrapped around her and slide it away. He sat on the floor and pulled her close to him. Destiny broke down even further and sobbed into his chest.

John walked down the stairs and past the living room to the kitchen when he caught sight of TJ and Racheal on the couch. Both were watching tv but what was odd was that Racheal was in TJ's arms. John paused for a minute, regaining his composure. Racheal laughed at something on the tv as she looked up and kissed TJ. TJ scratched his ear when he caught John's look. Racheal turned around to see what had TJ's focus. Racheal looked between the two boys and got up off the couch. She walked into the kitchen and dug around in the cabinets for a plastic cup. Finally she found one and set it on the counter. Quickly she looked in the fridge and turned around to John standing behind her.

Racheal jumped then glared at him. "Thanks for scaring me." She sat the cup on the counter and crossed her arms. "What do you want?" She asked when he just stood there.

John took a step forward and she took a step back next to the counter. John cupped her face with hands, staring at her. He leaned in and kissed her. After a minute, he backed off and looked at Racheal. Her eyes blazed and she slapped him across the face.

" Did you honestly think that would work? That I would suddenly like you? Well, guess what? I don't. If I'm anybody's, I'm his. He likes me for me, for who I am now. Not for what some fortune teller told of my future. He gets that I just lost my mom. Have you even considered that?"

The older Racheal swept a strand of hair from Destiny's face. Destiny looked up at her mother.  
"Are you mad at me?"

Racheal sighed. "A little bit yeah. I told you to stay out of it. She has to decide and not from you influencing it by telling your father what he did better than TJ."

"What if she picks him over dad? What if I never exist in the future and I die here?"

"I really doubt if she will so you have nothing worry over."

"How do you know?"

"Because I remember being her and I remember making that choice. Only you weren't here last time." Racheal smiled. She kissed Destiny's forehead and left the room.

John turned away from Racheal straight into TJ. TJ glared and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He proceeded to punch his upper body and face. John rolled and tossed TJ off of him. Then he went straight for his face as well. Punching, bloodying his nose. TJ grabbed John's shoulders and slammed him into the stove, knocking him out on impact.

"What do you want, Racheal?" Tyler asked gruffly.

"Knew my walk?"

"Yeah."

Racheal smiled. "I need a favor. Get TJ off of Racheal, the other Racheal." She laughed.

"Aww, can't Momma's boy handle the competition? Think TJ may actually win this time; What's wrong with that?"

"Well, my kids will die for starters. Destiny can't sleep because she's scared about it. Katya, well I guess I'll never see her again if Racheal chooses TJ…. Besides, we would have never had worked out anyway. You know that, Tyler. I'm easygoing and Amy's a challenge. You need a challenge, her and not me."

"Why are you asking me to do it?"

"Because... you're so good at saving my family. Broke John out of Century for which I still owe a thank you even if It was a favor."

"Don't sweat it, Connor. It's part of my job."

The younger Racheal gaped between the two boys. "Oh my god. TJ, what the hell?!"

TJ looked up at Racheal. "What? He kissed you. We're going out and he butted in. I don't care who he is or who he'll be."

"I think he got the point withought you beating him to a pulp."

TJ smirked. "Just to be sure."

Tyler and the older Racheal walked into the kitchen. "What the hell happened?" Racheal asked.

"He kissed her. I let him have it. Easy."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Come on kid, we need to talk." TJ looked between the young Racheal and Tyler before getting up and sulking out of the room.

The older Racheal smiled faintly at the younger version of her. She nodded to John's body on the floor. "I need you to help me move him." She nodded and grabbed his legs while the older her grabbed his arms and they eased him to the couch.

Tyler crossed his arms and looked at TJ. "Walk away from Racheal. She's not right for you and you're not right for her. Find another girl, she's C's." Tyler laughed and looked back at TJ. "Good work on knocking him out though next time you may wish to take a dive. He needs to believe he's top-dog, even if he's not." TJ looked back in the living room at both Racheals before he looked back at Tyler and nodded.

TJ walked into the living room and took a deep breath. "Racheal." He smiled faintly when both looked up at him. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" The teenager got up and followed him into the kitchen.

He scratched behind his left ear. "I don't think we're working out. I like you but I don't love you. I'm not right for you. He is better suited for you I think. You need a guy like….John. Someone you can depend on, someone stable."

Racheal crossed her arms. "So you knock his lights out only to break up with me?"

TJ looked at Racheal. "He took advantage of you so I felt that he needed to learn that."

Racheal rolled her eyes. "So you stand up for me then break up with me?"

TJ sighed. " I don't want to be in the middle of a pissing contest with boy wonder in there."

"Nice to know you can't handle it." Racheal sneered as she stormed up the stairs. TJ sighed and looked back in the living room and met John's curious gaze with a sneer.


	9. Chapter 8: Open To Me

" _Kind of galling when you realize that nutbags with cardboard signs had it right the whole time."_

Destiny picked up a sleeveless, low cut dress and pulled it off the rack to examine it..

"Never gonna happen." Racheal loomed over her, frowning. "You're not going to dress like Britney Spears.

Destiny looked confused. "Who?"

Her mother frowned. "Never mind, just no on the dress."

Destiny sighed sadly and it put it back. "Fine, let's just go."She said and stormed to the car.

She stuck her head out the window of the car and sighed again. "What is wrong with you?" Racheal asked. Destiny looked towards the driver.

"Do you think Katya is dead?"

"Not once, not ever."

"You thought I was dead."

"You have a target on your back, she does not."

Destiny nodded. Racheal sighed and rubbed Destiny's arm. "Think I found a place for us to go. Somewhere safe till we figure out a way back home."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Why can't we stay?"

"Primary and secondary targets in the same house is a very big risk. Two terminators drawn in the same direction." Destiny was silent for a long time.

"What do I do in the future? Why do they want me?"

Racheal sighed. "I can't tell you."

Destiny balled up her fists and stared out the window. Driving through town, they passed a sign that _"Repent: The end is near."_

"Why can't we do that? Put up some sign…a warning. That the world ends in 2011. Some way to tell people what's coming. To give them a chance." Destiny mumbled.

"Because no one takes them seriously. Most people believe they are daft." Racheal sighed and turned her attention back to the road. She swerved the car a bit to make Destiny laugh.

"So how was your birthday?"

Destiny smirked.

"Bit different than last year."

"Bad or different?"

"Just different."

"Tell me about it."

Destiny chewed her lip then faced forward. "Mom, look out!"

A tall man stood in the middle of the road. Racheal frowned and slowed down. Something didn't look right. Might have been the stance he was in, or the fact that he was simply too still. Most likely it was the way he seemed to be waiting on them. Whatever the reason, Racheal tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She swerved the car to avoid hitting him. A quick jerk on the car and it veered off the road and into the sand. It landed on its side, shattered glass mixing with sand. Destiny's head smacked against the window and she blacked out. Racheal's head slammed against the dashboard. The man 's eyes glowed red and he stalked up to the car. A quick thrust of his hand and he pulled Destiny through the windshield and flung her several feet from the car. Racheal lifted her head from the dash and followed his eyeline to Destiny's still form lying face-down in the dirt.

 **February 16th, 2012**

Racheal awoke to a bright light shining in her face. She lifted her head and rested it on the pillow behind her. The pale walls and rails on the bed told her she was in the infirmary.

"How are you feeling?" A woman asked from across the room.

"Like I've been in a coma."

"Do you remember anything?" She asked.

Racheal closed her eyes and concentrated hard. Fragmented pieces of memory flashed before her eyes. Metal hand around her throat….. Being thrown into a concrete wall…..Blood running down her legs….. John's voice in the distance… Her eyes snapped open. She sat up with some difficulty and lifted her shirt just enough to touch the stitches running across her abdomen.

"The baby?"

The woman across the room shook her head. "I'm very sorry, Ma'am. There was too much damage, the bleeding... we couldn't save…. " She hung her head and held her hand to her eyes.

Racheal shut her eyes tightly to force the tears back. "Boy or girl?" She asked hoarsely.

"A boy."

"I want to see him."

"Ma'am, John has him."

"Then go get John."

The nurse quickly left. John walked in a moment later and sat next to her. He looked at the lump of green blanket he held before looking into Racheal's eyes and scraped his throat before talking.

"This wasn't your fault. No way in hell...was this your fault."

"I should have... been more careful."

"You didn't know... You didn't know he was there." John eased the blanket into her arms and gently nuzzled her face.

Racheal unwrapped it, just enough to fully see his size. "He's tiny."

"He's estimated at about 19 weeks. No bigger than a hand at most."

"We should name him. I ..I...I can't... bury him without a name. " She said sobbing.

"I like William or Matthew." John suggested.

"Looks more like a Matthew to me." Racheal swallowed and caressed the infant's face with the side of her finger.

"Matthew sounds good to me." John reached over and softly kissed her on the cheek.

Racheal blinked her eyes hard and glared back at the machine. She pulled her 9mm and emptied the magazine into the back of its head. It turned away from Destiny to Racheal, long enough to take a shot at her as she ducked behind the flipped car. The terminator loomed over Destiny and took aim.

Tyler sprinted from behind the other side of the flipped car. He grabbed the can and tossed it to the ground _"Where the hell had he come from?"_

Racheal scrambled to her feet, took Destiny's arms and began to drag her to the parked car. Tyler pulled a screwdriver from his pants pocket and walked over to the terminator. He looked back at Racheal who nodded to him before pushing Destiny into the backseat of the car and climbing in the driver's side. Tyler seized the tin can's throat with his hand and held it in its place. He bashed its head with his left hand until its endoskeletal skull became visable. Racheal scrambled through the papers and tools in the glovebox of the car till she found what she was looking for. She got out and ran towards Tyler and the machine. A flick of the screwdriver and the porthole popped open.

"Five more seconds, Tyler." Tyler reached with his right hand and jerked the chip out.

John walked into the kitchen and leaned against the sink. "Morning

"Morning to you." Sarah answered and handed him a plate of pancakes.

John sat down at the table where Racheal and TJ were both eating their breakfast in silence. "Morning." Neither looked up nor answered. Cameron walked into the room and analyzed the table of three.

Cameron tilted her head. "Why are you mad"?"

Racheal grumbled. TJ scowled.

"He pissed me off." Nodding at John.

Cameron looked him up and down. "You do not appear to be wet."

John hit head on table. "God !..Cameron. It's just an expression."

"I get it." She replied.

"No, I don't think you do." John looked around before looking back at Sarah. "Where's everyone else?"

"Don't know. Took off before I got up. Why?"

John shrugged and turned his attention back to his plate.

Racheal examined the CPU in her hands and sighed. "It's toast. Figures." She rolled her eyes and looked at the backseat.

"She still hasn't woken up since the last time you checked. 30 seconds ago." Tyler answered.

Racheal glared good-naturedly at him. "Shut Up. Not that I'm complaining but why were you follow us?"

"C's idea."

"To follow us?"

"Cameron's there for John, I'm here for her."

"Protector?" She asked.

"Glorified Babysitter it would seem."

"Too old for a babysitter." Destiny mumbled from the backseat.

"The sleeper awakes." Racheal smirked .

"Finally." Tyler quipped as he slowed the car into the driveway.

He parked the car as Racheal got out and opened the door to the backseat. A quick jerk of her arms and he had Destiny thrown over his shoulder. Racheal shut the car door and went to open the back door to the house but not before Tyler kicked it open. Racheal rolled her eyes and walked in. The kids were in the living room and Sarah had her gun drawn at the door.

"Just us, Connor." Tyler replied and let himself in.

"What happened to her?" She nodded at Destiny.

"Lent." Destiny smiled. "I gave up walking."

Tyler dropped her on the couch and smirked.

"Hey! Easy Sasquatch, I'm breakable."

"Toughen up then."

Destiny rolled her eyes and plucked a shard of glass from a cut in her arm. "Yeah. Whatever."

Tyler rolled his eyes and grabbed a first aid kit from a kitchen cabinet as Destiny got up off the couch. "Sit down, kid"

"I'm fine." Destiny mumbled.

" I said "Sit down."

"And I said "I'm fine."

"Destiny, park it." Racheal ordered while she wet a washcloth in the kitchen sink.

Destiny sat back on the couch while Tyler brought over the first aid kit and sat it on the coffee table. He took out a pair of tweezers and pulled a shard of glass from the back of Destiny winced.

"So, what happened to you?" The younger Racheal asked.

"Wouldn't know. Didn't see it."

"You didn't see how a bunch of glass embedded itself into your skin."

Destiny pulled her hair aside to show her head wound.

"Gross." Racheal quipped.

"Shouldn't you assess her head wound first? She might have a fracture or at least a concussion." TJ asked.

"There's glass sticking out of her neck. For me to assess her trauma, she needs to lie back. She lies back, the glass goes further in, possibly nicking an artery or her brain stem, killing her." Tyler grumbled.

"So when you tossed me on the couch, I coulda landed on the glass. It coulda nicked something. You coulda killed me. Some babysitter you are. Can we fire him?" Destiny asked looking at Racheal.

"You don't have the authority, Silver Spoon and neither does your mommy." Tyler answered while finishing her bandages.

"Silver Spoon?" TJ asked.

"Yeah, Silver Spoon, Princess, Privileged daughter of C." Tyler answered while checking Destiny's ears for blood.

"Oh."

Amy came in the back door with Derek before looking around. "Nice. Average day of hell. Huh?" She smirked.

"Something like that." Tyler smirked back.

"Can I go now?" Destiny piped up.

"Yeah, you're done." Racheal answered.

Destiny took off upstairs as Amy got a rag and nodded to his injuries. "Reckless."

Tyler grinned. "Part of my nature."

The older Racheal smirked and went into the living room. "Thank you, Ty."

TJ looked at the bit of coltan showing in Tyler's arm. He glanced back at Racheal, before following her into the living room. He scratched behind his ear, finding his words.

"What's on your mind, TJ?" She turned around and smirked at his sudden loss at words. "I was a military brat with an overbearing mother. I know when people sneak up on me."

He smiled. "Destiny is his and hers isn't she?" he asked nodding to the younger Racheal and John in the kitchen.

"Yes."

TJ chewed his lip. "Is she why Tyler asked me to let her go?"

Racheal sighed. "Yes, TJ. If my younger self stayed with you, picked you. Then Destiny and Katya would never exist or she would be altered and it would not bode well for the future."

"Katya?"

"My oldest daughter."

TJ nodded and looked at his feet.

"TJ, just ask. I'll answer any question you have. My only request is that you be certain you want it answered."

"When IT fell and Tyler lost his arm, why didn't you speak up? Let him die a human rather than turn him into the enemy, into what he hates."

Racheal sat down and nodded. "Reasonable question. In 2025, I had my hands full with the war and a 12 and 13 year olds who made it their lives purpose to sneak off and give me a heart-attack. So when a guy is brought in missing an arm and nearly dead, it's not a shocker. It's not uncommon. Katya was holed up in her room, mad at something. Destiny was running off, hiding the camp. She was… mad at me for something I don't even remember. I didn't know the guy was you or the lengths that John would go through to keep you alive. I would have tried to help you."

"Yeah, right."


	10. Chapter 9: Sparks Fly

April 15, 2010

TJ stared out the window at the blurry scenes of life as Tyler took a quick curve, nearly on two wheels. Tyler had announced earlier that the supplies were running low, the last of the bandages were wrapped around Destiny's injuries, and there was never such a thing as too much ammo. TJ offered to go but after he had planned to take John, he thought about bowing out. Now he wished he had. Tyler drove like a maniac and with them together talking in the front seat. TJ felt like a tag-along.

Dark shadows dancing around her. Explosions to the east. Darting out of the light. Metal creaking behind her. She turned in time to be struck in side of head. A jolt went through her body and she awoke. Racheal smiled faintly and dabbed some rubbing alcohol near her wound. Destiny winced.

"Sorry, I was trying to not wake you. The wrapping keeps coming open. We're out of bandages, sent Ty to get some more but he and the boys should be back by now." Racheal frowned at her watch.

TJ and John weaved in and around corners. Navigating through the streets like a labyrinth. The shopping had gone well enough. Tyler only threatened a few salesmen. The problem came when the boys were loading the supplies in the car. Nothing looked wrong to them till Tyler yelled "Metal!" followed by "Run!"How long had they been running? TJ and John slowed to a stop and listened. Silence.

"Do you think Tyler is?" John asked.

TJ shook his head. Shuffling sounds behind them. Both boys turn to see an unfamiliar man at the end of the alley.

"John, run." TJ pushed at him.

The man pulled out his gun and aimed for John.

"Move!" TJ yelled and shoved John away as the man fired.

An explosion in his right shoulder and he yelled in pain. John took off down another set of corridors as TJ went to shove him again, catching another bullet in his lower back. He collapsed to the floor. The machine fell to the ground next to him. A shadow loomed over the two of them and his mind dissolved into darkness.

John knew he was dead when the alley he ducked into revealed itself to be a dead end. The sound of footsteps in a nearby alley. No time to correct his mistake. Bracing himself, he opened the lid of a dumpster and climbed. Not the ideal hiding spot but better than being pumped full of bullets. He curled up in a ball and listened.

"Kid?"

 _Tyler's voice. But most likely not Tyler._

"Come on, Kid. It's me. We talked on the roof, you wanted to take a dive, remember?"

 _Tyler._ John climbed out of the dumpster and ran to meet him.

"The metal?"

Tyler held out his hand to show a beat up chip.

"Is TJ…."

"Nah, not yet but he will be." Tyler said and picked TJ up from behind a corner.

"We need to get him home." John said

Tyler nodded to the direction of the car.

"You drive."

Racheal came down the stairs as the car screeched to a stop in the driveway. She grabbed the gun in the back of her pants and opened the door as Tyler darted past her carrying TJ. "Kid's been shot."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Never would have guessed." She turned back the sound of tires to see John pulling out the driveway.

"Where's John going!?" Racheal yelled.

"To get Charley!" Tyler yelled back from the kitchen.

Racheal ran back to the kitchen to help Tyler. After cutting his shirt off , she used the ripped pieces to help keep pressure of his wound. Racheal tied a piece of his shirt to his shoulder wound. "Looks like a through N through. But his back…if we can't get it out and closed up, he'll bleed to death."

Tyler pushed at TJ's body. "He's out,right?"

"Out cold."

"Good." Tyler pulled a Swiss Army knife and rinsed it under rubbing alcohol from under the sink. Racheal looked up at him.

"You know where the bullet is?"

"Nope."

"So you're going in on a whim? Are you…? Oh right, stupid question."

Tyler smirked and stuck the scissors extension in TJ's back. He nudged the instrument around until he found the bullet. "Bingo." Racheal turned towards a scrambling sound to see her younger self and Destiny standing at the foot of the stairs.

" Get me some towels and the supplies from the… s**t. John took the car. Just….. get some towels, sewing kit and rubbing alcohol." Both girls took off in separate directions.

Tyler pulled the bullet from TJ's back and set it on the table. He began stuffing the wound with bits of TJ's shirt to slow the blood loss. Destiny and the younger Racheal ran into the kitchen and laid out the supplies Racheal ordered and began handing them to the temporary medics. John and Charley burst through the front door, carrying a variety of medical supplies. Racheal looks from them back to TJ and sighed

Charley began looking around the room to Tyler and Racheal to the wounded boy on the table to the teenaged girls next to Sarah. "Who are…" He started to ask.  
"I think introductions are best for later." Racheal snapped.

"Complicated?" Charley asked.

"You have no idea." Racheal replied with a strange spark in her eyes.

Charley began unpacking his supplies and looked at the amount of blood TJ was losing as well as the blood on the table , Tyler and Racheal. "He'll need blood. A lot of it. Do we have a donor?"

"He's A-. Eliminates every person here but Sarah and me."

Charley nodded. " We'd be better off using you, you're kind of a big guy. You'd have more blood than Sarah."

"He's a perfect match too." John said.

Tyler's face darkened.

Charley stitched up TJ's wounds. "All right. Guess we should get started on that. Kid's lost around 4 units of blood. Quicker we get started, the better off he'll be." Charley pulled a needle from his bag. "Going to need you to hold out your arm."

Tyler pulled his arm back to himself. "I'm not infecting him."

Racheal looked at Tyler then at TJ with a twinge of sympathy. "I can't stay for this." She said and left the room to sit in the living room.

"Someone gonna fill me in? Charley asked.

John stood at the opposite of the kitchen table and leaned over to stare at Tyler. "He needs to live. I'm going to need him someday."

Tyler glanced back at him. "It will destroy him."

"You handled it. Give him the blood, Tyler."

John glanced at Charley. "Tyler has nanoattroids in his blood. It's a piece of Skynet tech like tiny machines in his blood. Tyler can survive things other humans can't because it speeds his healing. But it's designed for human mind control. It embeds itself in his brain and nervous system, sometimes when Tyler gets too mad or something. It takes control. If he gives blood to TJ then he gives the nanos to TJ. It's dangerous and painful."

"and I'm not doing it to him." Tyler remarked.

"But I'm John Connor. You have to do as I say."

"I don't care, kid. I'm not Cameron. You can't order me around."

"Just give him the damn blood, Tyler." Sarah called from across the room.

Destiny, Racheal and John sat in a circle on the living room floor. Destiny dealt another hand to the younger Racheal.

"Bust." Racheal said miserably.

"I'm bored." Destiny announced and dropped the cards. "

"You could always start on your homework." The older Racheal said from the couch.

"I'm not that bored." Destiny smirked towards her mother and picked the cards back up. The younger Racheal peered into the kitchen at Tyler giving TJ his blood.

"Will those nano-things hurt him?"

"Cause extreme headaches sometimes. They'll take over his mind and he'll be same as a Skynet-sent terminator. He'll kill anyone on Skynet's hitlist." John answered.

"Fun." The younger Racheal replied sarcastically.

For three days TJ had been fighting the nanos as John called them.

For three days, TJ sat in his room, buried his head in his hands and screamed in agony. The nanos were embedding in his brain and nervous system. A painful and long process. During which only Tyler, Sarah and Destiny would be near him. The machine, Cameron, had said he was a threat. Unstable. And Racheal believed it. TJ had been healed. He had survived but at a great cost. There were times were he lost all emotion, when his face became a blank, when he saw John as a target not a friend. When a simple game of Monopoly turned deadly.

The four teens had been enjoying their game. Winning, losing, laughter and teasing; Until TJ got a headache. TJ buried his head in his hands and cringed.

"Teej, are you okay?" Racheal asked as he started to shudder. When he looked up, his face was void of emotion. "Run!" Destiny yelled and shoved John at the door. Racheal jumped to her feet and ran out the door. John had been slower to react. TJ wrapped his left hand around John's throat and began to squeeze.

Destiny jumped on his back. "Let go of him!"

TJ tilted his head and increased pressure as John's attempted calls for help became strangled gurgles. Frustrated, Destiny jumped back off and broke a chair over TJ's back. Not enough to knock him out but enough to make him drop John. He scrambled to his feet and ran.

TJ moved to follow him and Destiny blocked the door. "Tyler!" She yelled down the stairs. If anyone could stop TJ in this minute, he could. TJ raced past her like she wasn't even there. She heard the front door open. She hoped that meant John got away. Or at least a good headstart. Sounds of furniture being thrown, the wall exploding? Destiny shot to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Tyler slam TJ into a wall. Chunks of the walls fell to the floor. Tyler gripped his arm around TJ's throat and held him struggling till he dropped to the floor.

"Timing." Destiny huffed. Tyler swung TJ over his shoulders and carried him upstairs. Sarah texted on her phone and a minute later John walked back in the front door. John looked at the damage on the walls and furniture.

"TJ?"

"More like Tyler using TJ to wipe the walls."

John nodded and looked at Destiny. "Nice shot with the chair."

"Yeah well you die, I die. Can we get back to our game now?"

John nodded and looked around." Where's Racheal?"

Racheal stood in the doorway of the kitchen trembling as she surveyed the damage.

"Hey." John said as he moved towards her. "It's okay." He promised.

Racheal shook. "His face…he was like one of those things. You almost died... It's not okay.. ok?" John wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed, holding her tightly against him, trying to soothe her.

"I'm always moments from death. You were the smart one to run away. Beat me by a mile." John said. Racheal smiled faintly and realized Destiny was watching her curiously, sadly.

It felt weird for her to watch her parents as teens slowly drawing to each other, while she had known them as her parents her entire life with the good and the bad that came with it. It felt like she was a ghost watching an important part of the past that, like the trees and grass, she was never meant to see. Love she might never know. 


	11. Chapter 10: Undisclosed Desires

**[Reader discretion is highly advised. Mature Readers only.** **Contains sexual content. Not suitable for young readers.** **]**

 _I want to reconcile the violence in your heart_

 _I want to recognize that your beauty is not a mask_

 _I want to exorcise the demons from your past_

 _I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart_

"So you and John, hmm?" She asked her friend when the latter sat down at the dining table to start on her homework. Racheal turned bright red: "Ehm, yeah. We'd end up together sooner or later anyway, so why not sooner. John's been nice and attentive. After the whole thing with TJ and Tyler, it's like he understands life better now. He's not such a pushy geek anymore."  
"And TJ?"  
"What about him?"  
"I thought you liked him."  
Racheal clearly thought about her answer: "I did, but he's not the same anymore. I can't deal with how he gets when he has a 'headache'."  
"Instead you pick the guy who did that to him," she could not help but say.  
"I know that that seems wrong. But TJ almost died for him, and John, he wanted to save his life in return. Tyler is a perfect match and every second mattered," Racheal muttered.  
"And now we have two of them running around," she sighed annoyed. "Just can't wait for them both to have a 'headache' at the same time. Maybe they can have a contest to see how many chairs it takes to get knocked out?"  
Before Racheal could react, the topic of their conversation entered the dining room through the kitchen while John came in through the living room.  
"Afternoon, ladies," TJ said with his usual grin before he sat down across the table from them.  
She quickly looked the other way when John made a halfhearted attempt to show TJ that Racheal was his girlfriend now by giving her a long kiss before sitting down next to her.  
"No need for that, John. I don't steal girlfriends," TJ remarked nonchalantly.  
She giggled behind her hand when John sent TJ a dark and angry look. TJ did have a point though; it had not been too long since he had broken up with Racheal and John had wasted no time moving in on her.  
Before John could even say anything, Sarah entered the dining room with her mom and Cameron in tow: "Derek called. He's got a lead that's worth checking out."  
John practically jumped to his feet: "Where are we heading?"  
"You're not going anywhere," Sarah said sternly. "Do your homework instead."  
"But, mom?"  
"No, John. You wanted normal, remember? Homework is normal, so you stay here. Amy and Tyler will stay behind."  
Tyler and Amy entered the dining room and sat down in chairs at opposite sides of the table.  
She could see John rolls his eyes before he asked annoyed: "How long will you be gone?"  
"No more than two hours. I'll call if something comes up."  
She sighed; two hours with those two in charge seemed an eternity. Either they would be all lovey-dovey to the point of being nauseating or they would pick a fight with each other just for no apparent reason. Not that it mattered much, it always ended the same.

Not to her surprise, it had been no more than five minutes since her mom, Cameron and Sarah had left when she saw Amy glance at all of them before rising from her chair. Pretending to be absorbed in her homework, she watched as Amy snuck past them, leaned over Tyler's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.  
"And so it begins," she muttered to herself after Tyler got to his feet and let himself be lead towards the stairs by Amy.  
"What?" John looked up confused. "Oh, not again."  
Not long after, they all were treated to Amy's moaning and Tyler's groaning.  
"Oh my gosh," Racheal squeaked embarrassed. "Have they no shame at all?"  
"Apparently not," TJ said, trying to keep a straight face.  
"This is ridiculous," John shook his head.  
"Yeah," Racheal agreed while she put her pen down. "How are we supposed to do our homework now?" She pushed her chair back and got up. "I'm gonna put my headphones on and listen to some music with the volume way up. I so do not wanna listen to this."  
"She's right," John declared a few minutes after Racheal had gone upstairs. "Mom coulda known it doesn't take them much to want to rip each other's clothes off. This is just fúcking ridiculous," he added while he slammed his books closed.  
"You sure it's not ridiculous fúcking?" TJ grinned, leaning back in his chair.  
She almost choked at that comment and burst into laughter: "That was bad, TJ."  
He looked at her from under his eyebrows with a wicked glint in his eyes and a crooked smile on his face: "I know."  
"Buncha high school kids," John grumbled, pushing his chair back angrily and standing up.  
At that TJ began to roar with laughter. She knew that it stung John that Sarah had enrolled him in some obscure community college where she had made sure that TJ could still do Computer Science at UCLA. TJ was intelligent enough to do a four-year-education in only two years and still find time to live. She wondered why he even bothered getting a degree when the world was going to end soon anyway. It annoyed her that she was being sent to school instead of enjoying what this world still held and would all be lost in the world she had come from. Play hooky, go to the beach, hang out with friends at the mall. So much to see, to do before time would run out for this world and it would all go to hell.  
"Gonna see what Racheal's listening to 'cause I sure don't want to listen to you two making bad remarks like rowdy teens on a school field trip," John said angrily before he turned on his heels and headed up the stairs.  
"Too bad, no sense of humor," TJ grinned. "Could've made comments a lot worse."  
What he said did not completely register with her. John had gone up the stairs to hang out with Racheal. She glanced at TJ and saw that he was bent over his books again.  
"Listen to music. Sure, like we don't know what they'll be doing," she muttered with disgust.  
"Playing a rousing game of chess," TJ quipped, not looking up from his textbook.  
"Oh, ha ha."  
"Not sure why you get so worked up about it. If they didn't, you wouldn't be here. Or do you still believe the stork dropped you off?"  
"No, a T-600 shot it down. It's just gross to think of them like that," she grumbled.  
"Then don't."

She glared at him over her books, but he did not seem to notice or mind. A few minutes of silence went by in which she desperately tried to focus on her homework and he continued to read. Assessing it was to no avail, she closed her book and pushed it away from her. He looked at her over the rim of his book for a second and then returned to reading. She lowered her head a little and read the title on the cover "Advanced Computer Science Theory". The title already sounded boring and too complicated to her in her mind.  
"TJ?  
"Yes?"  
"You've had girlfriends, right?"  
"Wouldn't call them girlfriends," he answered with a slight annoyance to his voice.  
"But you slept with them, right?"  
He heaved a deeply annoyed sigh, closed his book and put it down: "Right."  
"So there's no one special?"  
"Nah, you don't have to be boyfriend - girlfriend to have sex."  
She felt her ears began to glow. "Don't you want a girlfriend?"  
He kept quiet for a moment: "Nah."  
"Why not?"  
He looked at her darkly from under his brow: "Think about it, Princess. Why become attached to someone who is going to die when the whole world goes to hell?"  
"You could warn her," she offered.  
"Yeah, did that once. I thought she and I had something special, and I wanted to," he paused. "Save her, I guess. So I told her. Next thing she called me insane and would call the cops on me if I were ever to contact her again. Then she left for good. She even changed universities to get away from me."  
"People suck," she remarked sympathetically.  
His shoulders rose and fell in a simple shrug: "Not just people."  
"No, I mean... When you meet someone, you don't expect to give a damn, right? Who's got the time? Life's too short, and people suck."  
"Exactly, so after that, I figured it was easier to leave the girls in the dark and enjoy it while it lasts."  
"So it's just casual sex?"  
"I think they call it friends with benefits nowadays," he chuckled. "But yeah, just casual sex, no strings attached."  
"Oh Ty, you animal!" They heard Amy exclaim. "That's just... Oh god!"

She put her hands over her ears to block out most of the noise coming from upstairs. It was deeply embarrassing if not disturbing to having to listen to them but there was no escape; Tyler and Amy were not even trying to be somewhat discrete about what they were doing.  
She glanced at TJ who was shaking his head slowly: "Surprising that none of the neighbors have called the cops yet. Sounds more like they're killing each other than screwing each other," he remarked wryly.  
Her cheeks felt hot, like they were on fire: "Sheesh, TJ."  
"Kinda hard to concentrate on a text when they're being so loud," he added. "At least at night I can bury my head under my pillow."  
She could tell that he was fighting to keep a straight face and not start laughing when they heard Amy howl her lover's name, followed by Tyler's low growl.  
"Good guys always finish last," he quipped.  
Now that Tyler and Amy had gone quiet, they were treated to the soft, rhythmic creaking of a bed. She felt her stomach turn in protest and did her best to ignore the sound. It was impossible for her to make the difference betweens the teens upstairs now and her parents in the future.  
"Now that I don't mind. Just a little background noise, easy to ignore," he laughed.  
She groaned with disgust.  
"Oh right. Your parents," he chuckled. "Already practicing to be quiet so the machines won't hear them coming."  
"Not funny," she hissed annoyed.  
"Maybe not," he agreed reluctantly.  
They were not his parents, so he had no idea how sick this actually was to hear, but still she needed to suppress the urge to get up and hit him for that remark.  
"It is funny that we are the only ones not to, though. Maybe we should just do it right here, right now on the table? Why should they have all the fun, right?" He joked while giving her a conspiring wink.  
"Oh, we'd be in so, so much trouble," she laughed for a few seconds before all of a sudden a deep sadness set in: "You know... It's just so not fair. Everyone gets to do whatever they want to, except me... You'd think that people would be upset about John and Racheal hanging out together so much, but no, they'll be together in the future, so that makes it okay. And yet when a boy only looks my way, all hell breaks loose."  
"And what do you want?" He asked with genuine interest. "If you could do anything you'd like?"  
"I'd like to be free. Not bound by fate, name and people telling me what I can and can't do or who I can hang out with and who not. Just be free and forget my name."

There was a kind of sympathy in his crooked grin. He seemed to understand what she meant. Then she realized that he was bound by the chains of his fate as well. Nevertheless people did not think of him as some naive little child, which gave him some room to fight the restraints set by his destiny. It took him a while to answer, which told her that he had given it some thought.  
"I can set you 'free'," he offered with a smug grin.  
She swallowed the wrong way and started coughing. "Are you... You serious?" She squeaked.  
"Yeah, why not? It's just sex, right?"  
"Right, just sex," she said as casual as possible. "Something I'd like to do without the entire family watching my back."  
He burst into warm laughter: "Now that would be really disturbing."  
"Oh shut up," she giggled.  
"We're all dysfunctional enough already," he teased.  
Had the moment come and gone? She wondered. Or had he been kidding to see if she would take the bait?  
He pushed his chair back and rose to his full height. Just as tall as his future version, but not as broad and muscular yet. And a lot nicer than the gruff man her father had appointed as her guard.  
"So... Wanna forget your name, Princess?" He asked in a husky tone.  
She disliked it when people would call her Princess. It sounded demeaning, a reminder of her family's name and fame. However the way he had said it just now, it was gentle and full of promise.  
Her heart began to thump wildly in her chest. This was it. Excited that in a while she would no longer be this naive little girl. Thrilled that he was gone to be the one, and not one of those childish boys from school.  
"Really?" She stammered.  
A new worry rose from deep within her mind when she remembered some of the stories the girls in school told their friends between classes. "Unless you don't want to," he smiled.  
"I don't know... It's just... I don't know," she stopped when it became clear she could not put it into words.  
He looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and surprise. She averted her eyes and stared at the closest thing in front of her.  
"Oh, I thought. I mean, since you talked about it so candidly... So no boys?"  
She began to fidget with a piece of paper: "No boys. Back home, knowing who my father was, was enough to have boys stay a mile away. And here, the boys I know from school are just so very immature," she paused for a moment. "I just want to get it over and done with."  
She feared his reaction. Would he back out? Or would he start laughing at her? Only to tease her with it later on? He kept quiet for a bit. It felt like she was holding her breath. She watched as the corners of his mouth began to curl upwards into that crooked smile. There you had it. He was going to laugh at her.  
"Guess I will have to show you the ropes," he said slowly.  
"Show me the ropes?" She asked confused, unsure if it had a double meaning.  
"You'll see," he reassured her. "By the time I'm done with you, you won't remember your name," he added in a sultry voice. "Just promise me one thing?"  
"And that would be?"  
"Promise you'll tell me to stop if you change your mind."  
"Doubtful," she stated with conviction.  
He raised an eyebrow sardonically: "No promise, no sex. Your choice, Princess."  
She sighed annoyed: "I promise. In return I just have one request."  
"And that would be?" He frowned curiously.  
"Nothing weird, really. It's just... No kissing, okay?"  
He looked at her, keeping quiet for a minute, and she began to worry if this would be the moment he would really back out: "Okay," he nodded. "But you don't know what you're missing."

She had taken off like an arrow from bow, afraid he would want to back out if he was given time to think about it; she had lost her shirt by the time she had reached the stairs and had managed to be rid of her bra when she had reached the top of the stairs. Without giving him much of a choice, she had dashed into his room. And had been forced to wait impatiently for him to come in after her. Now she stood rooted to the floor, unsure of what was expected of her next. Like it was the most normal thing in the world, he had undressed himself in front of her. No shame at all.  
She took her time to look at him and decided he was even hotter naked. A few times she had seen him emerge from the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist, fresh from a shower, and had appreciated the sight of his washboard abs.  
However this was the first time in her life, she saw a man completely naked, let alone a man who was clearly aroused. It was somewhat intimidating, because, even though it was not difficult to figure what had to go where, it did make her wonder how on earth it could go there without hurting like hell. Was this really what she wanted? Yes, it was. For so long people had treated her like a four year old kid that she had resigned in acting like one instead of acting like the seventeen year old girl she was supposed to be.  
Did she want him to be her first? Yes, she did. Even if it was meant to be nothing special, just a one-time thing to get this over and done with so she could put it behind her. He seemed to understand that and made no attempt to convince her otherwise. She slipped out of her jeans and panties. Now completely naked too left her feeling very self-conscious for a minute or two, until she noticed the look on his face. Feeling a little more confident, she moved towards his bed.  
Why did she keep thinking this over and over? It was just going to be casual sex. Nothing more. Then why did she keep stalling? Was she having second thoughts? She shook her head to rid her mind of the confusing thoughts. He's just a means to an end, she told herself, and he knows it too.

He smiled crookedly and went over to his nightstand: "Do I need to use something?"  
Something? She felt she began to blush again when she realized what he actually meant. Her first reaction was to say yes but instead she lied: "I'm on the pill."  
She felt bad for tricking him like this. However she wanted her first time to be natural. She really wanted to feel him. So she had quickly thought up a believable excuse about how it helped her to regulate her periods since she was from 'another time and world in which famine, pollution and disease had reigned'. He looked at her for a few seconds, and she feared he could tell that she had lied to him. Relief ran through her when he nodded and she did not have to trick him any more.  
"You can still back out," he smiled faintly.  
She shook her head confidently: "Not backing out."  
He lay down on his bed and made himself comfortable on his back, folding his hands under his head before looking at her with a wolfish grin: "Well, what are you waiting for?" He teased. "You wanted this. Now come and get it."  
"Oh, to hell with it," she encouraged herself to take the next step. Without giving herself the time to over think it, she got on the bed as well and straddled his lap. Her heart jolted and she let out a whimper of joy when she felt him press up against her.  
"Just listen to your body, Princess," he told her in a gentle voice. "It'll tell you what to do."  
She shook her head. "Trust me," he smiled encouragingly. "It's already telling you what to do."  
Without realizing that she was doing it, she had started rocking against him. Did she dare take the next step? She closed her eyes and tried to 'listen'; her body was answering his. Last chance to back out, a faint voice said in the back of her head.  
Even if she had wanted to back out, her body would have fought her every step of the way. Lust swirled through her blood. Just a means to an end, echoed in her mind. No longer able to form any coherent thoughts, her instincts took over.

She winced when it hurt a little for a few seconds, but it did not come near the amount of pain she had been expecting. An unstoppable low moan rumbled in her chest when she felt him slide in deeper. Though a strange and somewhat uncomfortable tickle, it felt warm and fulfilling all at once.  
"You okay?" He asked softly.  
She nodded slowly and giggled; it was kind of silly that he was so concerned about her, at the same time it was also very endearing. So far it had been nothing like she had expected it to be. What did I expect? She asked herself in thoughts. Be thrown on the bed, pants pulled down, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am? Maybe, if it had been one of the boys in my classes.  
Occupied by her thoughts, the moment of being uncomfortable with him filling her had passed. In fact it had started to feel very natural.  
"Are you gonna lecture me, Princess? Have I been a naughty boy?" He teased.  
Unsure and unknowing what to do with them, she had crossed her arms so she would not do anything stupid with them. She glared at him good-naturedly while he smiled amused. Immediately she let them fall to her sides. He took her hands and placed them on his chest.  
"Just keep 'em there," he showed her his crooked grin. "Or place them on the mattress just above my shoulders. Whatever works best for you."  
"Smartass," she muttered, kicking herself for not thinking she could steady herself like that.  
"One thing at the time, Princess."  
"Oh, shut up," she blushed while she pinched him on the chest.  
"Let's save that for another time as well," he smirked.  
"Really, TJ. I have half a mind to get up and walk away," she remarked.  
"Nah, you don't."  
He was right. She did not.  
"Just try to move a little," he suggested after he placed his hands on her behind. "Nice n slow. Find a rhythm."

A rhythm? She raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously. What was this? A dance class? Taking his suggestions, she rocked back and forth once. A pleasant tingle welled up, one that tasted like more. Her teeth dug deep into the flesh of her lower lip when she tried that move again. Another tingle, stronger, inviting her back for more.  
Making sure her hands were steady on his chest, she tried to find her way to a steady flow of rocking. No matter how hard she tried, she could not find her rhythm and hold it. Shít, he must think I'm a total idiot, she thought worried when she felt his hands squeeze and release her behind very softly in an evenly rhythm.  
"Just follow my lead, Princess," he said in a gentle manner. "Squeeze, forward. Release, back."  
Somewhat reluctant she followed the directions his hands were giving her and soon found herself rocking back and forth at a steady pace from which she did not dare to stray, afraid it would turn into a disaster again.  
The tingles, so very tempting by nature, turned into arcs of pleasurable tension. The muscles of her calves, her thighs, her lower abdomen and her very core began to strain in enjoyable pain. She pressed harder to reach what lay so close, fighting it and accepting it at the same time.  
"Just go with it, Princess," he sounded so far away.  
Once more. All the tension balled up together. The world began to fade, until it was just him and her left. Just once more. An eruption of sheer pleasure. No longer in control, she threw her head back and arched her back, clamping her jaws shut to keep herself from letting out the primal howl rising from her chest at a frightening speed.

Completely drained. Her mind buzzing. Her ears ringing. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. So wonderful.  
She eased herself down on his chest, resting her head just below his chin, stretching her legs languidly. While she still tried to catch a full breath again, a sudden need to laugh took over. He cleared his throat, and she raised and turned her head a little to look at him.  
"Oh, hi," she laughed.  
"Welcome back," he whispered.  
Why wasn't he laughing with her? Only then she realized he was still there, still hard. For some reason she had thought he had finished with her. Suddenly she felt very stupid and selfish.  
"I'm sorry," she mumbled embarrassed.  
"What for?" He asked confused, reaching out to wipe a bead of sweat from her forehead.  
"For being selfish," she replied in a soft voice.  
The corners of his mouth curved upwards. If he was going to laugh at her, she would kill him. Even if that would be a shame.  
"Not selfish," he grinned. "You still don't get it, do you, Princess?"  
"Get what?" She really had no idea about what she was supposed to understand.  
"This was never about me, and all about you," he answered shyly.  
"Really?" She squeaked.  
He nodded slowly, scratching himself behind his left ear. It was a cute move and she wondered what it meant. How would it feel to kiss him? She asked herself in thoughts. Gentle? Searing? Sweet?  
On a whim, she reached for his face, her hands coming to rest on his cheeks and jaw line. She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips tentatively against his. No reaction on his part. Feeling stupid and disappointed, she pulled away a little.  
Had she misunderstood? Mistaking his concern for something more, something deeper? Her eyes searched for his. She could see that there was confusion written in them. Was it something she had done? Or something she had failed to do?  
"TJ?" She asked hesitantly.

His right arm came around her shoulders. His left hand on the small of her back. She gasped for air when suddenly she found herself on her back with him hovering over her. His warmth, the way his skin felt as it brushed with hers, the weight of his hips as they rested on hers, how he felt inside her, how he smelled so nice, how he looked at her now that he was on top. All seemingly insignificant things, and yet she discovered that she wanted to remember it all.  
The skin of his right hand felt warm and a little rough when he cupped her left cheek and took her breath away with a wonderful kiss. Now his hand slid from her cheek down to her collar bone, and from her collar bone to her left breast, his touch light as a feather. Worry rose in the back of her mind: she didn't have much. Tenderly he cupped it, caressed it, and she could not stop the moan the new sensation brought on from passing over her lips. God, how would she feel if he used both hands? She moaned wistfully.  
"Just remember," his voice was hoarse with lust. "Listen to your body. If you want to touch me, touch me. There's no right or wrong."  
"Okay, so if I do this," she breathed, putting her hands on his behind. "And then this," she softly pressed him closer to her. "It's okay," she gasped as a pleasant tingle ran through her.  
"That's right, Princess," he whispered seconds before his mouth covered hers in an intense kiss.  
She moaned softly when he pulled back a little and eased back in again. There was no other thought in her mind than how good this felt. His left hand slid down her side in a tender caress until it reached her thigh. Without breaking rhythm, he lifted her right leg up a little and put it over his left thigh.  
The subtle change, the increased sensation. She moaned louder. Without waiting for him to do it, she put her left leg over his other thigh. Whimpering when he almost left her, moaning when he came back to her. Her hands traced a path up from his behind to his shoulder blades.  
She gnashed her teeth when the sparks and tingles began to melt together. Growing stronger and higher like a tsunami reaching the shore.  
"Don't stop," she murmured when his pace changed again, his strokes becoming increasingly deeper and more determined.  
Those pleasant tingles completely fused into a tight knot at the very center of her being. Fear struck in the back of her mind; there would be no way she could stop herself from screaming at the release of all that wonderful tension.  
Maybe she could use a pillow to muffle her scream? She lifted her head from the bed, not a second to lose. The pillows were out of reach. Panic delayed her a little. Hadn't he said that there was no wrong or right? Her breathing had started to become shallow and ragged. The heat within, she burned so hot. It was coming. And there was nothing she could do about it.  
Before she knew it, she sunk her teeth into soft flesh of his right shoulder and howled muffled against his skin as the tidal wave of ecstasy washed over her. She pressed against him, clung onto him, as if she were drowning in a sea of uncontrolled feelings, wrapping her arms and legs around his body as tightly as she could. Her world cracked, and shattered. Blissful emptiness.

Slowly the real world started to return, like the noise of a new dawn; she felt him kiss her neck before he brought his face above hers and looked her in the eye. Barely able to do anything she sent him a loving smile, managing to raise her right hand and gently caress his cheek with her thumb. She watched as sweat trickled down the sides of his face.  
After resting her left arm around his neck and sliding her right hand to the back of his head, she pulled him to her but instead of letting her kiss him, he buried his face in her neck. He pressed on one last time, his deep growl of pleasure reaching her ear. His muscles tense under her fingers, he seemed to freeze up for a few seconds, his breathing hitched.  
Suddenly she almost got the wind knocked out of her when he lost all strength in his body and collapsed on top of her. Lethargically she stroked his back and ruffled his damp hair, enjoying how close he was to her right that moment.  
A whimper passed her lips when he pulled out slowly; she did not want this moment, this feeling to end. Maybe it had started out as just sex but it had become so much more, something she did not dare to name yet, afraid he would not feel the same.  
He rolled off of her and unto his back, panting and gasping. "Holy hell," he breathed, resting his right arm over his forehead.  
She turned on her side and studied his face. A smile was forming on his lips while he tried to catch a full breath. Was he laughing? Yes, he was. A deep frown creased her brow; she hated to be confused. He was confusing. Had her share in this been so bad? Why else would he be laughing?  
Anger flashed bright. Frustrated, she punched him on the jaw.  
"Arrogant jerk," she hissed tearfully.  
Within seconds she was flat on her back with him leaning over her. His eyes were searching for her and finding them, holding her captive because she saw something in them she could not place, something she had not seen before. She got ready to hit him again if he were to think it would be a good idea to laugh at her again.  
This time he was a step ahead of her; he grabbed her hands and forced them above her head. She fought against his hold.  
"A little spitfire, are you?" He smirked.  
"Not little. Five foot seven," she protested, still struggling to get free.  
"Still little to me," he quipped. "So... Care to tell me why you hit me?"  
"Because you were laughing at me."  
He shook his head: "Wasn't laughing at you."  
"Sure, only at my bad performance," she muttered upset, feeling miserable. "And I would've done a lot worse if you hadn't kept telling me what to do."  
"Didn't tell you to bite me," he said smugly.  
"Sorry," she said before she glanced at where she had bitten him, wincing when she saw the redness and the teeth marks. At least it was not bleeding.  
"It's fine," he reassured her.  
"Still gotta hurt," she mumbled.  
"It's fine," he repeated. "Never had a girl bite me before. Been scratched, pulled by my hair, punched, pinched and head butted, but bitten, no," he said with a mischievous grin that had her heartbeat pick up a little. "So there is a first time for everything."  
She wished that his words would make her feel better, like he had intended. It had been so wonderful, he had felt so good. And she had lost her mind. She vowed that she would not hurt him like that the next time, if there was going to be a next time.  
"But why were you laughing?" She still wanted to know.  
"Why were you laughing earlier?" He countered with a question of his own.  
She blushed fiercely again: "Oh," she said shyly.  
"Exactly," he grinned.

He rolled onto his back again, softly pulling her with him so she could cuddle up against him. It was tempting. There was nothing she wanted more that very moment than to rest her head on his chest and feel his arms around her, enjoying the afterglow together before making love to him again. And again.  
Nevertheless they were not alone in the house. An entire clan of Connors and their guards, who would come looking for her once they had realized that their 'Princess' had gone missing. And the worst person who could find out about TJ and her was:  
Her mother! Sarah, Cameron and her mom could come home any minute now, and here she was, completely naked, half underneath a cute guy who was without clothes as well. Racheal Connor was not a born Connor like Sarah or her, but she was a force to be reckoned with, especially when it came to her children. In the best case she would let TJ get away with his life but she would castrate him first, and preferably in an extremely painful way.  
"They're not home yet. We better get dressed and head downstairs," she said nervously when the voice of reason kicked in completely.  
"Hmm-hmm," he sounded more asleep than awake.  
"Com'on, TJ. No time to be messing around," she remarked, getting off the bed so she could gather her clothes and get dressed.  
"Just a few more minutes," he yawned.  
"No, now! They'll be home soon."  
It began to grate on her nerves that he appeared so careless about the possibility of getting caught red-handedly.  
"If they find you in bed, naked... Even Miss Tin would figure out what happened. Mom would lock me up in my room for the rest of my life, and she would kill you."  
He let out a deep breath: "Can always lie. Say that this or that girl showed up on the doorstep for a booty call and that she left after she got what she wanted. Sarah will get on my case again, but if that keeps the suspicion off of you, I'll be happy to weather the hurricane."  
She felt happy and disappointed at the same time. He would lie and get yelled at to protect her but at the same time he would deny what had happened between them. It made her heart sing and ache. Before she could say something, he sat up and swung his legs off the bed:  
"Don't worry. I'll be down in a few, " he smiled before rising to his feet.  
A warm fuzzy feeling ran through her when she let her gaze slide over his naked body. Hot and cute. Wicked and divine. In silence, she wished they could have had more time together.

Much to her own relief, she was the first to come back downstairs and find the ground floor to be deserted. She had found her shirt at the bottom of the stairs, but where her bra was, she had no idea. Contemplating whether she should try and find the missing piece of clothing, she decided against it. No doubt that the moment she had recovered it, she would look up and find her mother staring sternly at her. This was not something she wanted to explain to her mother. Yet.  
Not knowing where she had left the damn thing fed her nervousness. She could only hope that either TJ or she would find it before anyone else did. Tyler and Amy would never let them live it down. Cameron would give her away in a heartbeat, even if the machine did not have a heart. John and Racheal would be her parents one day and would surely remember this. Sarah, she had no idea how this Sarah would react to finding it. Maybe TJ would find, hide and hand it back to her in a moment when no one else was paying attention? She could only hope for that.  
After scanning the living room if the bra was plain view, she moved back to the dining room and sat down at the table, pulling her homework to her. She opened her book, grabbed her pen so she could do her homework. After only reading a few words of the first line of the question she had to answer, her mind began to wander; she could still feel him, taste his kisses, the warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction deep within her abdomen. It was more than enough to have her shift around in her chair. How long would it be before they would be together alone and repeat what they had done this afternoon? Because it was definitely something worth repeating in her opinion.  
A few minutes later TJ came down the stairs, making a detour through the kitchen before entering the dining room. After he placed a can of soda in front of her, he leaned down and stole a quick kiss upon seeing that it was just the two of them before he went to the other side of the table and sat down.  
"Thanks," she smiled, only realizing now that she was dehydrated.  
"Sure thing, Princess."  
She bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't giggle; no one would suspect that he meant it in a different way. That's why he had picked that one, she realized suddenly. She grabbed the can and opened it.

Cackling drifted down the stairs, and she rolled her eyes. Not thinking of them as her parents doing it was easier said than done. A minute later John and Racheal came into the dining room. John was grinning like the Cheshire cat, his arm wrapped firmly around Racheal's waist, while Racheal looked like she was going to burst from the giggles.  
"Sheesh," she mumbled disgusted.  
John and Racheal looked at her curiously. A deep worry entered her mind: what if they could tell that she had done something like that? She did feel a bit different but did she look different? Silly worries, she told herself, it was not like they had been in a car wreck.  
Only then she noticed that TJ was wearing a black dress shirt instead of the white with light blue stripes he had worn earlier. Oh shít, she thought while her stomach did a one-eighty on her. If she had noticed, so would Racheal. Idiot, she cursed him in thoughts.  
"So," Racheal began. "What's with the different shirt?"  
There you had it. We're busted.  
"It's clean, for starters," TJ answered calmly. "Got a soda shower when I opened my drink in the kitchen. She cleaned up while I went upstairs to put on a clean and dry shirt."  
"Yeah, he made quite a mess," she chimed in.  
"Why do you think we're not that far ahead of you with our homework? Other than the soda shower, it is pretty difficult to concentrate on a text when every few seconds we hear a groan or a moan or the creaking of a bed," TJ sounded so calm and collected, with even a hint of reproach to his voice.  
"Just because you two, and Tyler and Amy, are at it like bunnies doesn't mean that the Princess and me automatically end up fúcking each other's brains out."  
She bit the inside of her lower lip so she would not sigh with disappointment. This time Princess had sounded more like she was used to; distant, demeaning. He had done it on purpose, for her sake, she knew that, but it did not mean it did not hurt. Without another moment's thought. The front door opened and before she could reach for a gun, Sarah and her crew walked into the room. Perfect timing.She thought. John dropped his arm from Racheal which made her smile fade and cleared his throat.  
"What happened with Derek's lead?"  
"A bust a usual." Sarah said shaking her head and headed upstairs.

Destiny forced herself to look at her mother , worrying her ever prying eyes may divulge her secrets. Luckily, her mother's eyes seemed trained on John who without word rewrapped his arm around Racheal A soft smile played on her mother's lips before taking her bag of supplies upstairs to their shared room. With her future parent's eyes on each other, she slumped against the door post and breathed a sigh of relief. Fooled them again it seems. As a smug looked crept on her face, she looked again up to see Sarah pick up her missing bra. Sarah held it up gingerly and looked from Racheal to Destiny. Destiny quickly turned her head and felt herself flush six shades of red, certain Sarah's eyes were still on her. And now I'm in trouble.


	12. Chapter 11: Lullaby For A Princess

[Reader's discretion is advised. Mature readers only. Contains sexual content, not suitable for young readers.]

April 11th, 2030

John studied Destiny as she slept.  
Silently, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

 _Voiceover By Sarah_

 _"Calm, peaceful, happy. You can't freeze time. You can't protect your children from the future that awaits. The moment's there and then, it's gone."_

He sighed deeply. Slowly he pulled a needle from his pocket and injected a small chip into her left bicep. Destiny winced in her sleep.

"Sorry, baby…. You left me no choice."

April 20th, 2010

"Brake!" Racheal yelled.

" I can see that, Mom. Jeez. "Destiny complained and stomped on the brake.

Racheal glared at her from the passenger seat. "Are you trying to wreck the car?"

Destiny grit her teeth. "I'm trying to park the car. Lay off"

Racheal reached over and slapped the back of her head. "Watch it!"

Destiny winced and parked in the driveway. Racheal sighed as they walked in the house.

"Rough trip? "Sarah asked.

"I think I've shaved ten years off my life." Racheal said as Destiny rolled her eyes.

Sarah chuckled. "No more driving lessons?"

"Think we'll move on to swimming lessons instead." Racheal said and climbed the stairs where she found her younger self waiting on her, nervously fluttering her eyes around the house.

Racheal looked to her older self "Did I make a mistake? I mean, John and I are destined to be together but," she paused while she searched for the right words. "Maybe I've rushed things?"

The woman shook her head slowly "No, why postpone the inevitable? But John isn't TJ. It'll take more than some accidental bumping and grinding for John's interest to spark."

"But… He's just so passive. It feels like there's only one person in this relationship and it's not John."

"Yeah, I remember feeling like that all too well," the woman sighed. "He'll change eventually, but you've got to remember that his mother is pretty dominant, extremely protective and very controlling of him."

"But I'm dating him, not his mother," she interjected.

"Still, if you boss him around, he'll become even more closed off. Just let him figure it out on his own terms. That's the best advice I can give you."

"So… What? I wait? What if he never figures it out?"

"Oh, believe me, he will," the woman answered with a distant look on her face. "It might not turn out to be backbreaking and earth shattering but it'll still be very satisfying. If you love someone like John Connor, you'll soon learn to deal with it."

She blushed. In a way this was more than she had wanted to know, but it was also some sort of relief. "But isn't there something I can do? To speed things up? I mean, he does come to me whenever he feels like it, but then it takes like forever for him to make a next move."

Her older version laughed warmly: "Just be patient, dear. And if all else fails, you can always very lightly brush your lips against where his jaw and neck meet." She smirked and went on to her room.

Destiny sat at the table and worked on her homework alone. She had barely opened her textbook when Sarah sat down across from her.

"I hid your bra in your room when you were out with your mother."

"Thanks," she said sheepishly.

"It's TJ, right?" Sarah asked pointedly. "The boy you took your bra off for?"

She felt her ears begin to glow before she glanced up and swallowed hard: "Yeah, but just once."

Sarah nodded slowly and kept quiet for a long moment, clearly thinking: "Was it-?"

"Great? It was amazing," she gushed suddenly, surprised at herself and completely forgetting the fact that Sarah hated to be interrupted. "He was just so patient and sweet."

"So not what I wanted to ask," Sarah grumbled while shaking her head wearily. "And most likely not what I wanted to hear either."

"Oh, sorry," she muttered.

"I wanted to know if it was a one time thing or not," Sarah smiled slowly.

"I don't know," she sighed.

Sarah nodded again: "Do you love him? Is that why?"

She gulped nervously. It had been an act of rebellion, not an act of love. Not at first. Nevertheless something had changed during. When she thought of TJ now, she got a strange feeling in her stomach and felt a little giggly. Trying to be casual about it, she shrugged her shoulders: "I don't know yet. Maybe. I think so. As much as anyone can after one day," she answered, looking at Sarah meaningfully.

"Who told you about… him and me?" Sarah asked sharply.

"Nana did. Once in the future… as a bedtime story," she smirked.

She could tell that Sarah was contemplating her next question, the look in the woman's eyes growing distant slowly. It had to be about him, because she had seen that look a few times before. "Did… Did you know him?"

"Found me lost in the tunnels when I was three. Took me home and kind of became my playmate and later a friend, more of a big brother, I guess. I wish I could've told him goodbye before he," she stopped when she saw the sad look on Sarah's face. "Please, Sarah, don't tell my mom about TJ. I'll be locked in my room for another sixteen years," she pleaded with her. "And only god knows what she'll do to TJ."

"I won't tell her… for now. Not if what the two of you have is real and won't blow up within a week or so."

She shook her head: "It won't."

Sarah smiled slowly again: "We'll see but I have to warn you, Destiny. TJ doesn't have the best track record when it comes to girls. Usually they don't last much longer than a week."

"But I'm not just any girl," she protested. "I know the dark future, have seen the metal monster inside his head. He doesn't have to push me away to keep his heart safe." Sarah nodded. "So he's had a few girls," she added. "It only means that he was looking for something."

"Or running from something, have you considered that?" Sarah concluded. "God, do I really allow my son to bring you up so very naïve?"

She looked at Sarah curiously, not entirely sure what the woman was aiming at. "Dad was in Century for a long time," she defended her father. "And Nana was giving Skynet hell for it."

"Let me put it differently. TJ's nineteen. Pretty much still a boy. And anything with a skirt will give him a hard-on."

"I don't wear skirts," she countered annoyed. "And I did give him a-" She stopped herself from finishing that sentence, fearing she had said too much already, feeling her cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment.

Sarah smiled lightly amused and shook her head: "So what brought this on? I know that the four of you hang out from time to time, but I had no idea that you liked him. At least not like that." It was a good question to which she had no immediate answer. She could feel Sarah's eyes rest on her, studying her. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with being a hormone-crazed teen that has lived a very sheltered life back home?" Sarah asked when the silence lasted a little too long.

"I'm sure," she said after giving it some thought.

"So you fall for a guy while you're under him… Sounds like a hormone-crazed teen to me," Sarah stated bluntly. Heat rushed to her cheeks again.

"Maybe it does sound like that," she admitted reluctantly.

"But it's not like that."

"So you say."

"No, really, it's not like that," she protested vehemently. "He's smart, cool and funny… and insanely cute. Good things of Tyler but none of the bad, except for the nanos… I don't know… I've only known him for a short while but it feels like I've known him for much, much longer… I guess, I do like him."

A warm chuckle drifted into the dining room and she looked up to see TJ standing in the doorway. "You like me, huh?" He grinned crookedly. Her heartbeat picked up; she had not wanted him to know this. Not yet. But now that he did and did not immediately dismiss it, it did not feel so bad that he already to play the part of it being the most common thing in the world, she just smirked and opened a soda can:

"I really hate it when people sneak up on me."

"I try to be quiet, Princess," he said smugly with Princess sounding how she liked it. "Just stopping by and see if you want to go for a ride or something?" Heat rose to her cheeks rapidly; he wanted to hang out with her alone? Or did he have another motive? Like getting her alone again and. She did not allow herself to finish that thought and turned her attention to Sarah. There was a brooding look on the woman's face, which was all too familiar to her. Sarah was clearly thinking about something:

"Tyler is your guard, right?"

"Sadly yes," she mumbled.

The brooding look on Sarah's face intensified: "DNA-wise Tyler and TJ are one and the same person, right?"

"Right," she sighed.

"Just at different stages in life. But they are one and the same." "So if Tyler is your guard, TJ could be as well," Sarah pondered aloud. "Wouldn't it be less awkward if you were to walk around with TJ as your pretend boyfriend? Instead of having the hulk stalk you like a shadow?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe Sarah wasn't her Nana yet, but it was definitely something her Nana would come up with. She looked at TJ and caught him looking at her. A soft giggle welled up. "Sounds like a plan," she nodded before taking a sip of her soda.

"We will have TJ take over the chore gradually and convince your mother that's just a pretend relationship. You'll have to be quiet though. About it," Sarah added.

"How quiet?" TJ asked, a crooked grin slowly forming on his lips. "Like cricket quiet or like John and Racheal doing the horizontal tango quiet?"

She spewed her soda and started choking. A quick glance told her that Sarah was anything but amused and that TJ was fighting to keep a straight face. Sarah remained eerily quiet while the look on her face spoke volumes about her mood. It was a worry to her, because, even as her Nana, Sarah never had needed much to severely ryno the bearer of news. "A huff. A puff. And a creak," TJ finally broke the silence. "And… Done." She shuddered at that idea because it was still her parents he was joking about.

By now Sarah looked like she could explode. "Where's John? And that girl?" Sarah asked, her voice was inexplicably calm. She gulped nervously: it was one thing to see Sarah's impressive temper ignite, it was another thing to hear that calmness in her voice. She glanced at TJ, who was looking up at the ceiling, pretending to be completely innocent. Sarah followed TJ's gaze: "You're kidding, right?" Please, she thought, please, whatever you're thinking, TJ, don't say it.

"Well," TJ began. "It is pretty quiet, don't you think?" She could not remember that she had ever seen Sarah this furious before.

"I want you two out in the garage for practice in ten," Sarah snapped at them before storming off.

"Really, TJ?" She looked at him incredulously.

He grinned crookedly: "She's bound to find out her little boy is doing the horizontal tango sooner or later… I only helped with the sooner." She shook her head. Maybe if it had not been her parents, she could have appreciated this practical joke. But now she was worried about the consequences.

A few minutes earlier.

John looked at his cell phone again and frowned deeply confused. She had texted him before, but always when she was out of the house. At school, at the mall, but not at home. It just did not add up. She was home; all she would have to do was come to his room, knock on his door and enter. Now she had sent him a message, asking him to come up to her room. It did not make any sense. After taking a deep breath and putting his cell phone back in the back pocket of his jeans, he opened the door and went into her room. The air wheezed from his lungs and he stood rooted to the floor when he saw her stretched out on her bed, only wearing underwear. It was not the most seductive underwear he could imagine but it was definitely doing the trick. Soon his jeans were uncomfortably snug. Something that did not go unnoticed to her, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"Come here, JoJo," she purred.

JoJo? He frowned a little confused but finally understood how she had meant it. It brought a warm smile to his face. Step by step, he inched closer to her bed while she moved towards the edge.

"Rache," he mumbled, drawn to the intense look in her eyes.

"Yes?" She purred again, reaching for his belt before pulling him towards her.

He stumbled a little by her force. "We can't," he muttered, his resistance ebbing away quickly like snow in the sun. "Mom's home, and -"

"Forget your mom," she growled annoyed. Her annoyance did not keep her from undoing his belt and his jeans. Another soft wheeze slipped past his lips when she yanked his jeans down to his knees and slowly slid a hand over the front of his boxers. "It would be such a shame to let this go to waste," she giggled before she got up from the bed and rubbed herself against him.

"Uhm," he mumbled insecurely.

"Forget about your mom, JoJo," she said in a seductive whisper, brushing her lips lightly against the spot where his jaw and neck met. "Just you and me," she added.

"Just you and me," he echoed, unable to resist her seduction any longer. He had no idea what she had just done to him and he did not care either. His blood was boiling through his veins and all he could think of was her. Slowly and seductively he slid his hands up her back. "Damnit," he grumbled through gritted teeth when her bra caused him problems yet again.

"You really should practice more," she teased. "But not now," she added with a nervous giggle before she unhooked her bra and let it slide off.

A shaky sigh of appreciation escaped him when he looked at her. TJ is a fool for letting her go, he thought. Yet he was beyond happy that his rival had stepped back. He groaned softly when her hands brushed up against his skin while she pulled his T-shirt up and over his head. She smiled at him and took his right hand, only to place it on her lower abdomen and guide it down to her panties. It was a less than subtle hint, and he smiled faintly. He brought his left hand down and helped her out of her panties, making sure that his hands brushed up against her a few times and listened with satisfaction to her little moans. She was completely naked now and he did a step back to take a good look at her but she moved towards him, brushing her lips against that spot where his jaw and neck met again. His blood roared with desire and now it was him who moved closer, forcing her to lay down, only to follow her close.

"Please, John," she murmured when he came to rest upon her, her left arm coming around the small of his back.

Only still separated by his boxers, he rocked against her. She wriggled against him, and he had to fight to keep the last bit of his sanity. That last bit of sanity, that was lost completely not a few seconds later when he felt her right hand glide over his chest down to his abdomen before sliding down the front of his boxers and tenderly closing around him. A low growl rumbled in his chest. Suddenly it could not go fast enough for him; he wanted her, needed her, more than anything right now. Quickly he pulled his boxers down. Suddenly she was there, her bodily heat surrounding him. All he felt was her. All he saw was her. She whimpered softly when he sank away deeper into her, both her hands exploring his back. He pulled away and immediately returned to her. Her soft moan mingled with his low groan. "Oh, John," she breathed, kissing the spot where his jaw and neck met while her fingers wandered over his upper back. After a few hesitant moves he found a steady flow in his thrusting, one she could easily match. "Oh, JoJo," she gnashed her teeth, her nails digging deep into his skin.

All of a sudden the door to her room flew open, crashing into the wall with a loud bang. "John Connor!" The tone of voice of his mother did not bode came to an immediate halt. Racheal looked at him, her eyes wide open with shock and horror.

"Oh geesh," she mumbled mortified.

"John Connor!" His mother bellowed again.

"Mom, please," his own voice sounded distant. "Give us a minute?" This had to be the most horrifying moment of his life. Caught in the act by his mother.

"One minute! No more!" Distancing footsteps. The door slammed shut. He knew that she was waiting out in the hallway. And that one minute was one minute."TJ," he concluded. "Seems something he'd enjoy."

How the hell else could his mother have known? Someone had tipped her off and his money was on TJ. Was it payback? Or just for laughs? Racheal whimpered when she felt him leave her. John brushed his lips against hers and quickly he pulled his boxers and jeans up. Sighing, Racheal grabbed her underwear and got dressed. One minute was one minute. Before she could put her shirt on, the door opened.

"What the hell were the two of you thinking?" Were you even thinking ?"

John didn't meet her eyes. "There's no promise of tomorrow, Mom. We're together in the future so why wait?"

" There's war coming, John. I'm assuming you weren't using protection. Are you prepared to bring a baby into the madness?" Both teens glanced at each other then the floor. "Of course you weren't being safe." Sarah rolled her eyes. "There is no promise of tomorrow but this isn't the time for this. You need to get your head in the game."

Racheal started to giggle but camouflaged it as a cough.

John glared at Sarah. "When is the time for me to live my life?"

"Love is an Achilles' heel, John. Look at where it gets you. No one is ever safe. Nowhere is ever safe. Always looking over your shoulder. Putting yourself in harm's way to protect the ones you love. You can't risk that, John. You're too..."

"Important.? I know. You've been telling me that over and over and over since I was three. But I'm not three anymore. I'm nineteen, mom. Not a kid anymore" John snapped.

Sarah steeled her voice."Not an adult either or you would have thought before acting."

"Just like you did..with dad right?" A dry crack. John touched his left cheek which had begun to burn. He looked at his mother in shock. The look on her face told him that he had crossed the line, big time.

"Mom?"

"Enough, John," Sarah answered with an icy voice.

She could tell from the look on Sarah's face that the woman was about to lose her patience; they had already been waiting for more than five minute and TJ still was a no-show. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor when TJ entered the garage not a minute later. He had traded in his dress shirt, jeans and army boots for gray cut-off sweat pants, a white sleeveless T-shirt and white sport shoes. He looked more than insanely cute; he looked smoking hot. She glanced at Sarah, who stood with her arms crossed shaking her head warily:

"You honestly think the tin cans will wait for Mr Devlin to change his clothes, TJ?" Sarah asked sharply.

She could not help but giggle at that remark. TJ had changed his clothes on purpose, because he knew she liked him. He sent her his crooked grin and she had to tell herself to roll her eyes at him, trying to remain unimpressed by his appearance. Which was an incredibly difficult thing to do. His nice tan emphasized by the light clothes. His broad shoulders, his narrow hips. That crooked grin. She gulped nervously, on edge and something else. What the hell was happening to her?

"Nah," TJ answered with a shrug.

Now it was Sarah's turn to roll her eyes, although she was sure that Sarah did not have to pretend to not be impressed by his change of appearance. "Be serious, TJ. This isn't a goddamn joke," Sarah hissed. That crooked grin again. She groaned softly. He was challenging Sarah, just for the fun of it. Sarah simply ignored it. Or did she? She worried about the brooding look in Sarah's eyes. "Destiny, think you can show this funny boy a thing or two?" Her mouth went dry all of a sudden and she had to swallow a few times. Somehow her mind had wandered; there was a whole lot she wanted to show him and none of it had anything to do practicing hand-to-hand combat.

"Like what?" She squeaked.

"Anything," Sarah answered before she turned to TJ. "Anything that will get this funny boy, who thinks tin cans will wait for him, into shape."

TJ looked bored and unafraid: "First off, I was wearing my favorite shirt. And second, Rick called."

"I'll make sure to tell Skynet to hold off all attacks so you can change your clothes and answer phone calls," Sarah snapped at him.

"He just wanted to confirm if we were still on for chick-cruising tonight," he said in his defense.

The silly grin disappeared from her face immediately. Anger welled up from deep inside while she felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach, extremely hard. She had slept with him, given him her virginity, and now he was thinking about chasing other girls already. Had Sarah been right to warn her about him? A quick glance at Sarah told her that she was just as furious. Had her thoughts been consumed by all the wicked things she wanted to do to him just a minute ago, now they were filled with rage, disgust and hate. Without wasting another second, she stormed up to him and rammed her fist into his stomach, as hard as she could. He doubled up, clutching his stomach, coughing and gasping. Everything went into instinct. She grabbed him by his hair. It felt very soft between her fingers. Her determination was almost undermined by the hesitation that followed upon that feeling. Almost. She forcefully pushed his head down while bringing her right knee up. Nana's signature move. Sarah's signature move. He growled in pain when her knee collided with his forehead. It did not knock him out, but it did result in the foulest curses she had ever heard.

"Holy fúcking hell, woman!" He seethed. He looked up at her, left arm still protectively across his stomach, his right hand carefully touching his right eyebrow. Blood had started to trickle down the side of his face. Did she feel bad about splitting his eyebrow? No, she concluded. "What the fúck is wrong with you Connor women?!"

"What the fúck is wrong with you?!" She hissed back. "I thought… You and I… We," she stammered when in all her anger she could not find the right words.

"When I agreed to go chick-cruising with Rick," he paused for a short moment. "You and I… We hadn't happened yet."

"And we won't ever happen again!"

"Oh really?" His hazel-colored eyes flashed with danger and promise. The arrogance. "So if there's nothing between us, I better call Rick back and tell him I am coming along," he added while he sat down on the floor.

"Huh?" She was confused now. Had she heard it right? Her anger subsided a little.

"Told him I wasn't going. That I met someone… A special girl," he explained. "But I guess I was mistaken." He heaved a deep sigh and touched his eyebrow again: "Connor women, always so quick to jump to all kinds of conclusions, most of them wrong," he added sarcastically.

"Oh geez, TJ," she mumbled, all her anger gone suddenly. "I'm sorry."

"As you should be," he grumbled annoyed.

"Really, I-I-I," she was at a loss for words.

"What gives you the fúcking right to attack me like that without hearing the full story first, hmm?" He sounded more and more angry with each word. She sat down on her knees next to him and reached out to touch him. Hurt shot through her when he leaned away.

"I don't know," she muttered upset. "Heard 'chick-cruising' and I went blind." She sent Sarah an accusing look. If only Sarah had not put a seed of doubt in her mind by warning her about TJ. He carefully touched his eyebrow again and then looked at the blood on his finger tips:

"Yeah, I can tell." She rested her hands on her thighs since he did not allow her to touch him: "You're the first guy not to be intimidated by my family… And we had sex," she blushed fiercely. "I thought… You're my first boyfriend, TJ." His gaze came to rest on her abruptly, curiously. She felt a little uncomfortable to be having a conversation like this in front of the woman who once would be her Nana, but if it meant TJ would not walk out the door and out of her life, it was a conversation worth having. "When I heard chick-cruising, I thought," she paused while she searched for the right words. "I thought that it had meant nothing to you. That we meant nothing. And I just lost it."

"Boyfriend?" He asked slowly and her heartbeat picked up when she finally saw a glimpse of his crooked grin. "Wouldn't that make you my girlfriend?"

She nodded slowly: "Uh huh, unless you don't want a violent, territorial and stupid girl who is quick to jump to conclusions as your girlfriend."

"Violent, yes. Territorial, maybe. Stupid, no," he grinned. "I know you like me, Princess, and Sarah suggested that pretend girlfriend-boyfriend thing, but we haven't really talked since," he stopped midsentence, looking at Sarah suddenly.

"We fúcked," she finished his sentence with a giggle. "I know… It's just… I needed to think about it… Truth is I like you, TJ. A lot."

"And what better way to show a guy you really like him than splitting his eyebrow with a knee to the head," he teased while he treated her to his crooked grin.

"Oh, shut up," she giggled, giving him a playful push. This went far and beyond annoying; TJ was not even trying. Yes, she had split his eyebrow but that was no reason to start slacking off.

First that whole discussion about not attacking women, and now he was not taking anything of it seriously. She had to agree with Sarah that they were preparing for war and not a tea party. "I'm not going to hit a woman," TJ had protested vehemently, putting the emphasis on 'not'.

"Then the Grays'll be in luck. You'll be making it damn easy for them," she had countered frustrated.

"And god forbid if Skynet ever learns about it. All it'll have to do is send a female infiltrator after you to get rid of you. This is war, TJ, and the sooner you let go of those chivalrous ideas, the better," Sarah had added darkly.

She glanced at TJ, who was catching his breath after ending up on the bench again. For someone who was getting a severe beating he sure seemed to recover quickly. She had sent him into the wall and onto the bench a few times, but it did not take him all that long to get back on his feet. Now she looked at Sarah who answered her with a simple nod, like an unspoken agreement. Sarah surely had to know that he was not making any effort. "Again," Sarah barked.

TJ turned around, took his position and lunged at her again. He attacked blindly, without anticipating. She easily sidestepped him, turned around quickly and struck him hard in the kidney. It hurt her when she heard his deep growl of pain. If only he tried. It was just practice for her, to keep sharp and in shape. But for him? He needed to learn. Danger came in many forms. After a quick look at him, she decided to give him a little more time to recover, so she could think. Why did he keep attacking blindly? He was always so calm and collected, up to challenge. It just did not add up. "Again!" Sarah said sharply.

She glanced at his face, at his injured eyebrow in particular. It was still a bit swollen, but the cut had already started to close up. No wonder he would be able to survive injuries that would kill any other person who was not infected with nanoattrioids. Given his starting stance, the dark look in his eyes, he would attack blindly without plan again. Shifting her weight back and forth between her left and right foot, she prepared for his wild lunge. Speed and skill, it had saved her many times. He lunged as she had expected, she stepped aside to throw him off his balance and started on her quick turnaround to strike him and send him flying again. Something was off! In the split second she had her back turned to him, that fraction of time where she could not see him, he had changed his direction, his plan. His right arm came around her waist and she gasped from impact. A cry of surprise passed her lips while they both tumbled over the garage floor. The change had caught her off-guard, disorientated her for a few seconds. Enough time for him to gain the upper hand and pin her down. She looked at his face again; that crooked grin and that mischievous glint in his eyes. She shuddered with need and let out a soft groan. Immediately his smug look of victory was replace by one of concern. She felt him relax his hold on her. That was all she needed to turn the tables on him. Using his moment of being distracted, she shoved him aside, following him quickly. Sitting on his stomach, she put her hands on his upper arms and pinned him down. He did not resist her hold, only looked at her with a mixture of surprise and reproach. The look saddened her. Was he mad that she had fooled him? But he had fooled her first.

"Not fair," he complained. It brought a grin of victory to her face. Now he did look mad at her and she let the grin disappear immediately. "Really thought I'd hurt you," he added sourly.

"Sorry," she mumbled. It was unsettling how much his angry look had effect her. He had to know that she was only playing, right? The look on his face told her that he did not. He was right; it had not been really fair, but she had yet to meet a human who did fight fair. Even he did not: he had changed his attack so suddenly, she had had no time to counter. Not fair either. Anger flared to life. "And you're the one to talk! You could've really hurt me like that," she growled angrily, sinking her fingers into his upper arms. It should have been his turn to feel bad, but he seemed to be unaffected by her anger. Or maybe he was just better at hiding it.

"Wouldn't have happened if Sarah and you hadn't been so hell bend on practice," he simply said.

"Then why did you agree?" She asked, her anger unrelenting. He kept quiet for a long time and for some reason she was convinced that he would have scratched himself behind his left ear if she had not pinned him down. Her patience had started to run really thin when he finally said:

"Because I'd like to hang out with you." In a way it was a pretty disappointing answer, especially since it had taken him so long to come up with the simplest of answers. However at the same time she realized that he had taken a beating on purpose to hang out with her. Her anger dimmed a little.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to ask me out on a date?"

"Maybe," he nodded in agreement. "Dinner. Movie. Your mother."

She groaned with annoyance. He had a point. Her mother. She loved her mother dearly, but she no longer was the naïve little girl her mother took her for. The boy underneath her, looking up at her, had made very sure of that. The memory, sudden and intense, short-circuited her reason. A deep sigh welled up from deep within. "So, unless your mother accepts me as the pretend boyfriend, no dinner, no movie… Only kicking my ass on occasion," he said with a straight face until he reached the kicking ass bit.

"You really didn't try, did you?" She smirked.

"Nah," he grinned crookedly. "It's way more fun to make you believe you can actually take me," he teased. She looked at him for a few seconds, shaking her head slowly. Acting on a whim, she slid down from his stomach to his lap. "Princess," he growled softly when she rocked and ground against him very subtly

. "Actually," she smirked again. "I think I can take you." The world seemed to fade out again, until it was just the two of them left. Ideas, fantasies of the wicked things she wanted to do to him swirled through her mind, making her moan softly with lust. A loud 'Ahem' woke her roughly from her state of mind and she turned her head a little to see Sarah staring at them darkly. She blushed from head to toe and scrambled to her feet as quick as possible.

Destiny snuck around in the dark. Rushing behind trees, beneath bushes. The dark brought her to life. Like home. The living on the edge. Her senses tingled. Her breath became shallow as to not attract attention. And there he was. Leaning against a tree, smug look on his face. "Hey, Princess."

In her excitement, she pinned him to the nearby tree and pulled her black tank-top over her head. Grinning, she kissed him passionately. "Hey, baby." TJ smirked and returned her kiss as he rolled her black shorts and panties to her ankles.

Destiny smirked and jerk his shorts off. "Nice, babe." She grinned.

TJ eased her to the ground and eagerly climbed on top of her, kissing her neck as she moaned softly. "You are so gorgeous naked."He whispered sultry in her ear.

"You should see things from my point of view." She said as he eased himself into her. She groaned and turned her eyes to the stars as he paced himself with deep, hard thrusts. Ecstasy..Pleasure …Sinfully Sweet. The boy had divine skills. Ever so gently he cupped breasts as her hands glided down his back to his behind. They moaned simultaneously as she pressed on him, forcing him deeper. The stars seemed to swirl above her as TJ groaned and released himself to her.

April 21st, 2010

Destiny grumbled to herself while walking past aisles of crayons and markers. "Do we really have to been here?"

"You need school supplies, so yes." Racheal answered.

Destiny rolled her eyes and gripped TJ's hand, smirking to herself. Racheal shook her head and kept adding supplies to the cart while Destiny acted , notebooks, and sharpies.. whatever. TJ looked around nervously.

"What's the matter? Afraid she's pick Lisa Frank stuff for you?" Destiny teased.

TJ tensed and focused his eyes on a man one aisle over. Stiff posture..unhuman like expression. TJ lunged and pushed Destiny behind him as the shots rang out. Searing, hot pain shooting through his inner, left side and Destiny cried out. Racheal stumbled to her feet and pushed herself in front of the kids as the shooter shot again, nicking her in the leg. She collapsed under her own weight as Tyler threw Destiny over his shoulder and took off. The terminator darted to the other side of the aisle and chased them. Racheal knelt down beside TJ as the blood pooled beneath him.

"Breathe." She said and applied pressure."The nanos won't let you bleed out."

Tyler raced away, weaving in and out of aisles as the terminator pursued. The faster Tyler ran, the more the force made Destiny bounce on his shoulder. "Put me down, please! It's killing me!

"Not gonna happen, Silver Spoon."

Destiny caught sight of the machine and yelled. "Duck!" Tyler dropped to the floor as the terminator shot, catching a bullet in his shoulder. Grimacing, Tyler picked Destiny back up and ran on. Racheal poked out of the side of shelf and shot at the machine. It turned to her and fired as she ducked back behind the shelves.. When the machine turned back to follow after Tyler, the ceiling lights glimmered off of a small green box in its hand.

A familiar looking box. Racheal caught her breath before yelling in Tyler's direction. "It's tracking her!..Cut out her tracker!"

Tyler dove in the clothing section and laid Destiny down before ripping a gray shirt off a hanger and stuffing in her mouth. He pat down her left bicep till he found the small bulge of skin near her shoulder. Quickly he pressed it between his thumbs and index fingers and pushed the chip through the layers of her skin as Destiny's face reddened and her eyes rolled to the back. Tyler rolled the chip between his fingers before crushing it in his left hand and removed Destiny's gag. Slowly, he got to his feet and took off in the direction he came. He slammed into the machine and shoved it into a wall as Racheal scrambled to her feet and began lugging TJ out of the store.

Destiny woke bleary eyed to see Charley examining her wound. He smiled when he saw her gaze. "You've lost some blood but I think you'll be just fine."He filled a syringe with clear liquid. "Just need to give you an antibiotic and then, It's just rest." He smirked.

"It can't work ..I mean, I'm allergic ..to penny..penicillin."

He shot the syringe into her vein and smiled again. "I know. A better death than a blow to the head. Don't you think?"

Destiny felt her throat tighten and her face quickly swelled. She tried to take a breath and panicked when she found herself wheezing. Her heart raced as she tried to make her voice work.

"Mama?"

"Mama!"

"Here."A voice sounded as a warm hand pressed against her cheek."Sssh." Racheal eased.

Slowly her heart began to calm. She glanced at her wound. Charley frowned as he felt around.

"Bullet is going to be difficult to get out if even possible. She'll need blood after the penicillin gets far enough along."

"Penicillin?" Racheal asked. "She has an allergy to that!"

Charley looked dumbfounded for a moment before scrambling for his bag on the counter. Destiny's heart raced and her breath wheezed. Racheal turned back to her, opened her mouth and forced air in. "Easy, easy."

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as her dream replayed before her eyes. She pushed her mother away and scrambled off the kitchen table, leaving the adults to grab at her feet. Destiny raced across the room, grabbed her mother's 9mm off the counter by the door. She pointed it from her mom to Charley and back, her eyes wide with fear.

"Destiny, easy." Racheal said slowly." Easy, you don't know what you're doing. Baby, put the gun down." Racheal turned her head toward the living room."Tyler, get in here please. We have a bit of a situation."

Heavy footsteps and Tyler stood at the doorway accessing the situation before walking into the kitchen, smiling like a long lost friend. "Kid, relax. We're all people here. No one is out to get you." Tyler said as Charley scrambled to fill a syringe with epinephrine. Destiny wheezed louder and started to shake. "Relax, kiddo. Lay the gun down or you'll just shoot someone when you drop, and you are about to drop."

Destiny blinked hard and shook her head like she was trying to wake herself. She ran toward the backdoor and collapsed before making it outside. Tyler grabbed her before she hit the floor. Quickly he scooped her up and laid her on the table. Charley pressed the syringe into her thigh as Racheal gave her mouth to mouth.

Tyler looked at Charley." Next time, call me when you need me to do your job."

Charley ignored him and began CPR on Destiny. "Yeah, thanks, Tough Guy."

"How's TJ?" Racheal asked between breaths.

"He'll be just fine. Nanos repaired the nick in his liver. Racheal breathed a sigh of relief when Destiny took a small breath on her own.

"Thank God." She whispered.

Charley felt around her wound. "The force of the bullet broke the rib and it's just hanging there with the bullet stuck in it."

Racheal looked up. "Translation?"

Charley frowned. "She's going to have to lose part of her rib. It's a miracle that it didn't snap off and puncture her heart or lung.. TJ slowed the bullet which without a doubt saved her."

Racheal smiled at Tyler. "And again, I owe you her life."

Tyler shrugged. "My job." He walked back to TJ and shoved a needle into both their arms while Sarah held TJ still.

Charley plugged in a small electric saw and looked solemnly at Racheal. "It's best if this is done while she's still out. She won't be out for much more."

Racheal nodded and held Destiny's arms in hers. Charley further stretched her wound to expose the rib and Destiny winced. Charley took a deep breath and began cutting her rib. Destiny stirred immediately. She whimpered as Charley adjusted the saw to the break. Destiny screamed when he started again.

"Keep her still!" Charley instructed as Destiny tried to squirm off the table.

"Tyler, some help please?!"

Tyler yanked the cord connecting his vein to TJ's and rushed into the room to grab her legs.

Racheal buried her face next to Destiny and sang softly in her ear.

"Fate has been cruel and order unkind. How can I have sent you away?  
The blame was my own, the punishment, yours. The harmony silenced today.  
But into the stillness, I'll bring you a song and I will, your company keep.  
To your tired eyes and my lullabies, have carried you softly to sleep."

Destiny continued to thrash around and lowered her screams to shrieks of sobs. Racheal met Charley and Tyler's eyes before returning her gaze to Destiny's tear streaked face.

"Once did a pony who shone like the sun, look out on her kingdom and sigh.  
She smiled and said surely there is no pony so lovely, and so well beloved as I.  
So great was reign so brilliant her glory that long was the shadow she cast, which fell dark upon the young sister she loved and grew only darker as days and nights passed.

Lullay moon princess, goodnight sister mine, rest now in moonlight's embrace.  
Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth, through cloud and through sky and through space.  
Carry the peace and the coolness of night and carry my sorrow in kind. Luna, you're loved so much more than you know.  
Forgive me for being so blind.  
Soon did that pony take notice that others did not give her sister her due, and neither had she loved her as she deserved.  
She watched as her sister's unhappiness grew.  
But such is the way of the limelight it sweetly takes hold of the mind of its host and that foolish pony did nothing to stop the destruction of one who had needed her most.

Lullay moon princess, goodnight sister mine, rest now in moonlight's embrace.  
Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth, through cloud and through sky and through space.  
Carry the peace and the coolness of night and carry my sorrow in kind. Luna, you're loved so much more than you know.  
May troubles be far from your mind, and forgive me for being so blind."

Charley checked the tape around the cut rib and removed his hand from the wound. He and Racheal shared a tired smile. Racheal eased Destiny down on their bed. Softly she kissed her forehead and went back downstairs. Charley handed her a few syringes of morphine.

"The epinephrine will wear off in not long and she'll be able to have pain meds. Only give her one every twelve hours or you'll run the risk of too much and developing a dependency. She's going to need plenty of rest to heal up and not stress her wound. No school, no running, no fighting. Definitely no gunfights." He smiled. "And I'd tell her to avoid sex for a few weeks."

Racheal smirked. "She doesn't even have a boyfriend. Don't think we'll have to worry about her having sex."

TJ smirked from the living room as he put a cotton ball on his needlemark.

Racheal made a bed of pillows and blankets on the floor of Destiny and her room.

TJ lingered in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"I roll in my sleep and with the way she sleeps…." Racheal answered and nodded at Destiny sleeping in the bed. "I was afraid I'd bump her wound. So I'll settle for the floor tonight."

TJ thought for a minute."You can take my room for the night. Got another dose of nanos so I'll be difficult to sleep. Impossible actually, and I won't be using the bed. Got to be better than the floor or couch."

Racheal smiled faintly. "Thank you but I need to keep a watch on her. Manage the pain meds and keep her from ripping her stitches out."

"I can do that. As awake as I am, I'll be pacing the house all night. I can come in a check on her, give her her meds while you get some sleep. You're about to crash as it is. I can keep watch on her. It is my job after all,… or will be fulltime in the future. Practice never hurt."

Racheal smiled tiredly and nodded. "You have a point and you did take a bullet for her today." She conceded. She got up and slipped her sheer robe on over her pajamas." She gets a syringe of medicine at midnight and another at noon. Not a minute before. Wake me if she spikes a fever." She said and left as TJ nodded.

TJ waited till she left and climbed on their bed. He knelt down next to her and laced his fingers through hers. "I'm so sorry, Princess…. I should have been faster on spotting it. I was too slow to get you out of the way…. I'm sorry…I love you….So much."

Racheal walked towards TJ's room and smirked as she saw John leave his room and head towards Racheal's' room. When he heard her footsteps, he ducked into the hall bathroom next to TJ's room and waited. Racheal stopped in front of TJ's room and smirked. "You're a brave soul. Not sure if I'd risk it after getting caught earlier."

John poked his head out the doorway and stared at her.

"You're mom is still awake and moving around downstairs, I'd wait if I were you." Smirking to herself, she added. "and a little tip, bras are easier to take off if you try to push the hooks together and then pull up on one."

John's jaw dropped.

"I used to be that girl, you forget."


	13. Chapter 12: A Drop In The Ocean

[Reader's discretion is advised. Mature readers only. Contains sexual content, not suitable for young readers.]

John's eyes met hers and he felt shock. Ocean blue eyes.. Racheal's eyes. The curve of her jaw. Her milk white skin. The fire in her hair. Everything he loved about Racheal, this woman shared. Of course, they were one and the same. He watched her flick a strand of hair out of her face as she looked at him with confusion. The strand of fiery red landed along her perfectly curved shoulder. He smiled to himself as he realized her sheer nightgown shown a perfect outline of her full breasts. He wheezed when he saw her nipples protruding through the sheer fabric thanks to the cool spring air. The thought entered his mind, would Racheal be as beautiful naked twenty years later as she was only this morning. Her hips wider from childbirth, her breasts fuller from nursing his children. She'd be just as beautiful if not more. He groaned as he felt himself stiffen at the thought.

"John?" She asked again, more out of concern. Quicker than he could blink, her pressed against the wall and claimed her mouth with a passionate kiss. "John.?" She said again when he moved his lips to her neck but she didn't push him away.

"Please?" He whispered.

She whimpered when she felt him press his hips to hers and she knew what he was asking of her." _No, she thought. He isn't your husband_." But another voice echoed in the back of her mind. " _Technically, he is"._

"Please?" He murmured again.

Her unspoken decline caught in her throat as thought of the last time her husband had been with her. Destiny's birthday wasn't it? Moments before she had found her way out into a warzone, found that she liked danger, and John's every thought had turned to worry for that child or the war.

"Yes."She whispered.

John eased her down on his bed. Quickly, he reached under her nightgown and removed her panties. She slid her cover up off as he pulled his boxers to the floor. He climbed on top of her, pushing her nightgown up as he moved upwards. Slowly, he pushed her nightgown to her belly button and slid his hands to her inner thighs, easing them apart. He met her eyes for a second and pushed himself into her. Racheal gripped the sheets and moaned loudly. John pushed her gown past her breasts and took a firm hold of them as he sank deeper. Her legs shot into the air by his hips as he began thrusting.

"Oh god, John." She moaned as he found his rhythm. He grinned and pressed harder. Racheal wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him deeper making her shudder with pleasure. He caressed her breasts as he began to thrust harder making her sink to the mattress, gripping the sheets. Racheal howled as John gripped her breasts again and pressed himself to her again. She kissed the spot where his jaw and neck met and smiled. He smiled back, pushed her gown over her head and threw it to the floor before kissing her passionately. Racheal wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him to her and answered his kiss. John brushed his lips to her nipples as she gripped the sheets and moaned. He took a firm grip to her breasts and thrusted hard before jerking uncontrollably.

Panting, John laid down on Racheal as she tried to catch her breath. Lethargically, she stroked his damp hair. When his breathing had calmed, he left her to lie down beside her on the bed, smiling to himself. The click of his doorknob turning turned his blood to ice. He hurriedly wrapped part of the sheet around his waist. The younger Racheal snuck in to the room and quickly closed the door before looking for John. The color drained from her face as she noticed his sheet and then to her future self with no covering. John braced himself for her screaming at him, for her hitting him and storming out. He didn't expect her to be calm.

"You made love to her." She whispered. John took several breaths before looking at her.

"I was going to your room and it just happened. Racheal, I….."

The teen looked at her older self, the red circle on her right shoulder stood out like a bullseye. Her birthmark. She took a shaky breath and laughed. John's face reflected shock and confusion. The young Racheal undid the drawstring on her robe and slid it off her shoulders, revealing herself to be fully naked as well. John groaned and looked away , tightened his grip around the sheet covering his natural response to the sight of her nude.

"You were supposed to come to my room when the coast was clear, to come to me. Instead you pull her…...me into your bed." She shook her head like she was clearing a thought. "She's me…You didn't cheat..She's me….She's me" She said and sat down on the bed next to John. She pulled the sheet from John and pulled him on top of her. "Just …come here, Jojo. Like you were supposed to."

John took a deep breath and looked at the older Racheal. Sweaty, naked and most of all, satisfied. He could do this. He could make her happy. After all, he already did. Groaning, he pulled her legs apart and pushed himself into her as she moaned. He found his rhythm easily this time and smiled hugely as Racheal began to squirm under him. He cupped her breasts and thrusted with more force. "Oh, Rach." He moaned with her. Smiling, she showered him with kisses.

Racheal locked her knees at his hips as he drove her into the mattress. "Jojo, don't..stop…Don't stop." Growling softly, he climbed to her and drove her to the sheets as he thrusted himself harder to her. She shrieked in pleasure when he grabbed her behind and pressed her to him. Panting heavily in sync, John pulled back from her only to rush forward, caressing her breasts and claiming her mouth in a searing kiss as she trembled underneath him." Racheal." He whispered as he pressed himself to her. He laid his head between her breasts and groaned as the feeling of ecstasy came quickly. Drowsily, he left her and collapsed on the bed, facedown between both Racheals.

Destiny stirred and TJ grinned at her. "Good Morning."

She winced. "Dad?"

She blinked hard and found TJ staring confused at her. She looked around the room and frowned. "Where's Dad?"

"My guess is, he's home… back in 2030."

"Then what year is it here?"

"2010, Princess. Remember? You got shot yesterday.

"Yesterday?" Destiny blinked against the streaming sunlight pouring into her room.

"You've been out all night long."

Destiny nodded and winced. "I remember now."

She smiled. "You stayed the night."

He smiled back. "Of course I did, Princess." He leaned in and kissed her softly.

"What the hell is going on?!

A voice boomed from the doorway. Starled, Destiny paled when she saw her mother standing just inside her room. Still in her night clothes, arms folded looking quite angry and shocked. Mostly angry.

Gritting her teeth, "I said… "What the hell…. is going on?"

TJ shrugged. "I kissed my girlfriend. Simple. You have a problem with that?"

"Oh I have a big god damn problem with that. " Racheal balled her fists. "Just get out."

"Mom?" Destiny whispered.

Racheal's eyes flashed fire and she stormed over to Destiny. A sharp pop and Destiny held her hand to her burning cheek.

"Mom." She whimpered.

Racheal pulled Destiny to her feet and careful to not touch her wound, she wrapped her left arm around Destiny. Holding her steady with her left arm, Racheal pulled a belt from their dresser drawer and spanked her with it till she screamed. Breathing hard, Racheal let go of the belt and sat Destiny on the edge of her bed. She glared harshly at TJ. "I said leave!"

"You're not my mother..or my boss."

Racheal bit back a remark and looked at Destiny. "Did you…sleep with him?"

Destiny cried louder and looked away.

Racheal took a deep breath. "How many times?"

"Twice.." Destiny sobbed.

Racheal glared at Destiny and then TJ. "Did you two geniuses even bother to use protection?"

Destiny looked away and shook her head.  
"Why? " TJ asked.

"What do you mean why? So you don't get her pregnant or catch a disease."

"She said she was on the pill." TJ looked at Destiny darkly.

Destiny sobbed louder.

" Well I can assure you she isn't..and won't be on it either." Racheal glared back at Destiny.

TJ looked at Destiny. "Were you trying to trap me!?"He yelled furiously.

"You said you were on the pill."

Destiny covered her face. "I'm sorry.. I…"

"I don't want to hear it."TJ said and stormed out of the room, holding his head and slamming the door behind him.

Racheal looked darkly at Destiny as she continued to wail."You're getting a pregnancy test as soon as I get changed." She said and pulled Destiny to her feet before leaning her over the bed.

"Mom , please?" Destiny whimpered.

"And you're grounded until further notice." She said as she picked the belt up off the floor.

John woke up with a big grin on his face. Both Racheals were still where he left them, both willing to let him have another turn. If things turned out like this for him a lot, than perhaps his life might have an upside. Of course Racheal the older had to check on Destiny, and Racheal the teen had to escape before his mother made her rounds. He showered and tried to soak up the experiences of the last 24 hours, before the yelling started. He snuck out to linger in the hallway and listen like Racheal and Sarah had done.

As TJ stormed to his room, the crowd trickled away as Destiny's cries bounced off every wall. John took Racheal's hand when Sarah disappeared from sight.

"What did she do?" Racheal asked.

"Something bad for her to deserve that." John replied and walked her downstairs to where their backpacks were waiting.

Destiny buried her face in her pillow and cried till her mother had gotten dressed and left the house. When Racheal was out of sight, she chucked her pillow at the door in frustration. She ran her hands through her hair and pulled. She went to the bathroom and took a shower, slamming the door. When she came out, Racheal stood there with her arms folded. "Do I need to smack you again?" She asked looking at the pillows on the floor.

Destiny shook her head as Racheal handed her a pregnancy test. "Mom, I'm not."

"Check anyway…..Without the attitude." Racheal added when Destiny stalked back towards the bathroom. A few moments later, She came back out and handed the stick to her mother.

Destiny sat on the bed and looked sharply at her mother. "That was degrading."

"It's degrading to find out that you've been sleeping around with a boy that is way too old for you and in no way compatible with the time and place you were born in.. TJ becomes Tyler. The devil, your guard. The man you can't stand. Remember? "

Destiny glanced at the floor.

"He was born in 1991, and you in 2014. You think it will work? If you go back home and he's here. It's not him being nineteen and you being seventeen. He'll be grown and changed by the time you're born. You can't have him."

"Like you couldn't have him you mean? Fate and all." Destiny muttered.

Racheal smirked. "That was my choice and he was my age at the time. TJ will end up nearly your father's age when you're born. Do you want that?"

Destiny huffed . "This isn't home. I'm here now and he's here now."

"You're right. This isn't your home. It's his home, his time. You ….don't belong here. You're supposed to be home."

Destiny grit her teeth. "Dad shoved me here, he doesn't want me home so I'm staying here."

"No, you are not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you are not!"

John smirked at Racheal over his textbook as the echo of shouting raced downstairs.

"They must have really gotten into it." He quipped.

Racheal smirked "Yeah, really badly."

"Maybe it's about the thing yesterday… you know." He whispered with his eyes on his mother in the next room.

Racheal frowned. "Thought you said it was TJ."

John shrugged. "Haven't seen either of them since so, I don't know. It's weird."

She chewed her lip. "Maybe they both exposed us and she's yelling because of that. I would" She smirked at John.

"Wouldn't that work against her with us..and her..and the complicated reality?"

Racheal shrugged. "No idea."

John got up and smirked before going upstairs. Racheal laughed and rolled her eyes while going back to her homework. John stuck his ear to the door and listened to the yelling. His eyes widen and he lunged towards the bathroom as the adult Racheal bounded out and slammed the bedroom door behind her before marching down the stairs. John stood just inside the bathroom and counted the footsteps on the stairs. He looked around as he mentally figured her location. Before he left, he noticed something in the empty trashcan. He gently picked up a used pregnancy test and stared at it before looking downstairs at both Racheals.

John waited till his mother disappeared into her room before returning to the table. He slipped the test on the table before Racheal and watched as she stared at it in confusion.

"Racheal, why didn't you tell me you thought you were?"

She took a breath. "John it isn't mine. I swear it isn't mine. I would have told you."

He glanced at the older Racheal. "Then who?"

She frowned. "Not mine. Too early to be hers." She nodded at her future self.

She looked up at John, startled. His look of disbelief matched hers. John shook his head slowly. "There's no way, Rach…Can't be."

"Either It's her or your mom. Pick one."

He swallowed hard and looked at the stairs.

Destiny stopped pacing her room and balled her fists. She climbed on the bed and opened her window. A quick peek at the door and she swung herself out to the branch of the nearby tree. A quick climb and she took off running into the woods. Five left turns in a row and she reached the main streets of LA. Sighing deeply, she ducked into the city library and climbed down the stairs to the basement. Books and dust and more books. Pages of past history, memories and stories birthed from creative imaginations. Their purpose is to entertain and record. Twenty years in the future, they keep people warm as firewood.

Destiny slipped into the restricted section and tapped her foot on the floor till she found the echo of metal. Slowly she pushed the covering away and slipped through the hole in the floor. She landed on her feet with a soft thud and looked around. Barely any light, a tomb of concrete around her, the smell of dust and earth. Home sweet home. The sound of wind caught her off guard and she whirled in time to be knocked to the ground.

A knee to her chest made her cry out in pain. Struggling to move, she stared at the older woman holding a knife above her face. A deep breath and she kicked the knife from her hand. Rage burned in the woman's green eyes. The dark black hair, the green eyes, hard mouth and stern expression. Reconition clicked into her brain.

"Nana?" She asked timidly.

The woman scrambled for her knife as Destiny kicked it further away. The fire in her eyes didn't quench as Destiny backed up slowly, showing her hands. Sarah kicked her legs out from under her and again pushed her knee to Destiny's side to hold her in place.

Destiny gritted her teeth as Sarah's knee pressed against her wound, bringing blood to the surface. "Who are you?! Why are you here?!"

Destiny strained against the pain. "I'm Destiny…and I live here in the future, with dad and mom and you. Don't you remember? You've…known me since I was born."

She blinked in confusion. She closed her eyes and tried to pull something more from her thoughts, something useful from shards of a broken memory. A red-haired woman bleeding badly on a table, a newborn, still wet, stirring to life in her arms and, the same look of wonder in the eyes of a dark haired toddler clinging to the arms of a teenage boy with beautiful blue eyes. She blinked again. The toddler, aged to a young girl grinning with no front teeth climbs on her lap, the girl as a teenager putting on a necklace, " _Destiny"_ spelled in silver.

Sarah gasped and Destiny winced. "Nana, please get off."

Slowly, she backed away and pressed her hands to the Destiny's blood soaked shirt. "What happened?"

"GSW, yesterday and I think.. I think I ripped the stitches."

Sarah pursed her lips. "You did."

Thundering footsteps followed. Destiny whined.  
Sarah turned her attention to the coming intruder. Heavy footsteps, stiff posture and a cold, calculating face. A vision popped before her eyes of another face with no emotion.. Glowing red eyes and a gun pointed at her head. Sarah scrambled backwards, tripping over her own feet. She grabbed Destiny and pulled her along as she ran from the hulking shadow.  
"Nana, slow down." Destiny panted and looked behind her. "Nana, he's on our side."

"He's one of those things!" She shrieked.

Destiny panted and tried to keep up. "I'll admit.. he's strange but ..he's human."

"I don't trust it!" Sarah pulled harder.

"Then trust me." Destiny stopped running and, tried to catch her breath as the shadow gained on them.  
Sarah stopped in her tracks and turned to face Destiny, inching her body towards the road for a life saving sprint when things went bad.

One minute

Two minutes

The hulking shadow caught up to Destiny and with one swift move, he swung her over his shoulder. The burning pain in the side screamed in agony and the darkness swallowed her whole.


	14. Chapter 13: Helplessly, Hopelessly

[Reader's discretion is advised. Mature readers only. Contains sexual content. Not suitable for young readers.]

 _"The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."_

Racheal leaned against the railing of the stairs while the household investigated their new guest.  
"What year are you"? Sarah asked.  
"What year?" Her older self asked, confused.  
What year did you come from?" Sarah asked again.  
"I don't know. I woke up in an alley a few days ago. I remembered a place underground. A city. When I got there, it was empty and abandoned. " She paused. "I stayed there three nights before the girl…Destiny showed up. She's the first person I recognized since I got here."  
Racheal pursed her lips. "How did you recognize her?  
She looked up. "I had flashback and saw her..at different ages."  
Racheal nodded. "Do you recognize any of us here?"  
The older Sarah frowned and scanned through everyone's faces. Sarah, Racheal, John, the smaller Racheal,Amy. She sighed. "He looks familiar." She pointed to John.  
Racheal frowned. "But no one else?"  
"You..somewhat."  
Rachel sighed and thought for a moment. "Did John send you?"  
"Who's John?"

Destiny opened her eyes slowly and found her mother staring at her.

"Destiny Sarah Connor, what in the world were you thinking? You left by yourself, without permission or informing anyone, you didn't take a weapon with you or your phone.. Hell , you didn't even wait long enough until you were healed to the point that you could defend yourself in a fight."  
She gestered to her wound.  
"What.. on earth ...were you thinking!"

Destiny winced. "Mom, I'm sorry."

"Oh I bet you are. But for now, you can expect to lie here and recover while we repair the damage."

Destiny focused on Tyler sewing up her side when she noticed the IV in her left arm. "Ouch."

Racheal checked her IV. "You shouldn't be in pain, you're on enough valium to not even feel a broken bone."

She shook her head. "Doesn't hurt, just..looks bad."  
She frowned... "I saw Nana."

Racheal nodded. "She's downstairs. Seems she's suffering from memory loss, forgotten who she is and where she is. Hopefully, it's temporary."

Destiny nodded while watching Tyler sews her wound. She watched Cameron replenish her IV bag as her eyelids begin to feel heavy. "No..more…drugs." She gasped and reached for the needle in her vein.

Racheal pulled her hands into hers. "The needle stays. You are going to take a nap while your body rests and heals." Racheal let go of her hands and added another layer of gauze tape to secure the needle. "This is not a request, young lady."

"I don't.. want nightmares.. please, mom?" She pleaded.

"No nightmares, I promise. " She gently closed Destiny's already closing eyelids. "Goodnight." 

One Week Later

Assuming she had fallen asleep, her mother had finally left her alone. To make sure that the coast was clear she had waited another few minutes before getting out of bed. She had to fix this. She needed to make sure that he knew that she wasn't some con artist trying to trap him.  
In the hours her mother had been her shadow, she had tried to find the courage to go to him, to find the words that she would need to convince this had not been some ploy.  
Silently she snuck out of her room and hid in the shadows of the dark hallway as much as possible. She almost gasped with surprise when she tried his door and found it unlocked. Careful as to make no sound, she opened it and glanced into his room. It was dark inside. For a second she thought that he might still be out, but then she saw a still figure on the corner of the bed.  
Her heart beat frantically. What if it was her mother trying to catch her in the act? But the figure was too tall. Too broad. Her heart now skipped a beat. He was home. Silently she entered the room and closed the door behind her. She switched the lights on.

"Leave the lights off," he growled, unmoving.

She winced but still did as he had said.  
"TJ? Can we please talk?" She asked after some hesitation.

He snorted with contempt: "Ah, the Connor Princess. Coulda known. Though I don't see what there is to talk about."

"Please, TJ, I need to talk to you," she pleaded with him.

"Fine, you can talk to me, but whether I listen or answer is an entirely different story," he said gruffly.

The belting and not even the gunshot wound hurt as much as the pain and anger etched deep into his voice. Yet his announced unreasonable behavior was enough to make her temper flare and she quickly tucked her hands into the pockets of her sweat pants.  
"Fine," she echoed. "I'll talk and you listen. Or not. Whatever."

"Not a good start, Destiny."

She winced again. The anger, the danger to his voice made her second-guess her decision to come and explain things. It felt like she was on a thin sheet of ice that was rapidly cracking under her feet.  
"Please, TJ… I never… This wasn't the plan," she stammered.

"Nope, because it backfired. Guess I should thank your mother for that."  
"I never meant to -"

"To what?" He interjected. "Trick me? Lie to me? Hurt me? What?"

"I wasn't trying to trick you, TJ. It was supposed to be this friends with benefits one time deal, remember? No strings attached? Or have you conveniently forgotten?"

"I never forget," he growled. "I didn't change the rules of the game, you did. If they hadn't already been the rules from the get go."

"What is it you want to hear, TJ? That I'm sorry? I am deeply sorry for what I did but… When you joked about it and then turned it into a serious offer. It was my first time and I wanted it to be natural, to really feel you. Using a condom would've prevented that."

"A condom prevents a lot of things. Arguments. Pregnancies. STDs."

She had to keep her temper in check.  
"STDs? You were my first! How can I-"

"Self-centered much? Wasn't talking about you, darlin'. Like it or not, but you were not my first. Hell, you weren't even my first virgin."

So much for the saying that words could not hurt. Because they seemed to cut right through her heart. This was not where she had wanted this conversation to go. And she definitely did not need reminding that he had a lot more experience and that there was a certain number of women out there who had seen him naked. A stab of jealous anger shot through her.

"Haven't you been safe? With others, I mean?" She hissed, angry about his hypocrisy.

He took a deep breath before answering: "Almost always."

She let his words sink in.  
"Almost always. Not always. How often, TJ?" She wanted to know.

"Just once," he grumbled annoyed. "But once is enough."

"Do you have a STD?" She feared to ask.

"No, I got off clean. No kid. No disease."

She bit her tongue. Maybe he hadn't contracted a disease but he did have a child. Was he denying its existence? Or did he honestly not know?  
"You sure?"

He nodded slowly: "The sex just happened. It wasn't planned or I would've done a lot better than the backseat of my car," he said with a wry smile. "But I did call the girl it happened with a while later and she said that the test had been negative. After that, with what I know, I always took my responsibility."

She concluded that he really did not know. Hesitating if she should tell him or not, she decided against it. It was not her place to tell him and it was not something she could lay on him like that. No matter how much he would piss her off now, or in the future.  
It had begun to annoy her how easily they had gotten sidetracked. She had been preparing for this most of the afternoon and evening, and they were getting nowhere. His attitude and body language were still tense, still hostile. She was here to apologize and to make him understand that she never had the intention to trap him like that. She liked him too much to pull a stunt like that on him.  
A long, extremely strained silence followed. He had barely moved since the start of this conversation and she had no idea if she could approach him or not. A deep sigh passed her lips.

"For what it's worth, TJ. I truly am sorry for the way things have gone. I didn't," she paused, trying to find her words. "I didn't mean this… This was never the plan. Ever."

"Then what was the plan? Screw me and pray I wouldn't knock you up?"

"I don't know. You can't always have one. Not all the time. Sometimes you just do. And I did. To you."

He snorted again: "Everyone always has a plan. Or a plan behind the plan."

"What the fúck is it that you want to hear, TJ? That it wasn't supposed to be more than a one-timer? Because if you want, then that was the plan and you were okay with it. Just one fúcking and both on our own merry ways."

His reaction was a single shrug of his shoulders. She clenched her fists. Maybe she could not raise her voice but she certainly could hit him for being an impossible ass.

"That plan failed," she continued. "I never expected you to be so sweet, so patient with me. Letting me set the pace so I'd be comfortable. I know that I should've told you the truth when you asked about protection, but," she paused to search for the right words. "I didn't want you to think I was some little girl."

"If you had been some little girl, we wouldn't even be having this conversation," he countered. "I figured you were old and mature enough, but I guess I was wrong about that," he stated darkly.

She cringed.  
"People always treat me like I'm four instead of seventeen. You didn't. You treated me like an adult, made me feel wanted and desirable… I know that I shouldn't have lied, shouldn't have said that I was on the pill. It was stupid and childish. But I didn't want to give you any reason to back out."

"Back out?" He sounded confused. "Only times I back out is when a girl wants unsafe sex."

She let out a small whimper upon hearing her suspicions confirmed. A sharp intake of breath, followed by a soft 'oh', told her he had come to the same conclusion. Suddenly she realized something.  
"Why did you agree to not using a condom when-"

"Don't even go there," he barked but the deeper emotion etching into his voice did not go unnoticed to her.

She wonder what that meant: "Why not? You have me grovel for forgiveness, acting all righteous while you're a fúcking hypocrite."

"Maybe I am, but there's a big difference between lying to get what you want and keeping something unsaid to protect something else."

She rolled her eyes. Acting all high and mighty would no longer help him.  
"Like riddles justify lying by omission," she growled angrily.

"Didn't lie," he growled back. "Just refusing to disclose something to you of which I know you can't handle it."

"Stop talking in fúcking riddles!" She yelled exasperatedly, forgetting for a short moment that she couldn't raise her voice.

"Fine! You want to know the truth? Then you better make damn sure you can handle the truth!"

"Yes, goddamnit!"

He kept quiet for a good minute before starting in a softer, gentler voice: "The truth is… I liked you the moment I first laid eyes on you… Denied it, try to tuck it away, denied it some more, tried to bury it, denied it even more."

"Oh," she mumbled, caught completely off guard and feeling like someone had just punched her in the stomach.

"So yeah, I kept that to myself. Joked about it. Played it down as if it was nothing, while realizing all too well what risk I was going to take. It was my mistake to think you were old and mature enough, though I could and should have known better. You acting like a little girl is a pretty common sight around here. Guess fantasy and reality got mixed up."  
A deep frown creased her brow. When had the roles become reversed? She had come to his room, to him to defend her actions, and now he was defending his instead.  
"Still doing it. Still thinking you're more mature than you lead on, even though considering your schemes it should be clear that you're just a little girl."  
She huffed.  
"Honestly thought that your history had given you some more maturity, like mine did with me," he added.

She opened her mouth to object against his claim of maturity, but the objection would hold no ground; he was indeed mature, especially for his age. Knowing the future would do that to anyone, and cuteness and a great sense of humor did not equal childish behavior. Still it did sting that he only needed a few words to cut her down to size. Trying to come up with an equally hurtful reaction, she missed her chance while he continued:  
"Sex, okay. No kissing, okay. No condom, okay. Pretty damn naïve of me," he sighed before he shook his head slowly. "And I'm supposed to become this brilliant strategist. The Devil."

"You're not the Devil," she immediately protested.

"Yet."

Now it was her turn to sigh. His moods could be so erratic, but what else could she expect from someone who had been infected with nanoattrioids? She heaved another sigh. It was time to get back on track again and say the things she had come to say. After that, it would be up to him.  
"Please, TJ, will you at least listen to what I have to say?" She began.

"Though I already was," he answered with another single shrug of his shoulders.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. This was her last shot at giving him an explanation.  
"Maybe all of this shouldn't have happened. Maybe it should've stayed strictly platonic. Maybe it should've only happened once. Tough luck, it didn't. When you joked about taking me right there and then on the table, I thought you could never be serious. Then you offered to make it come real, and I felt a spark of hope," she paused for a moment. "If it had been any other guy but you, I would've declined in a heartbeat, but it was you who offered. You are the only person in this damn household who doesn't constantly treat me like I'm some dumb toddler. Even Racheal treats like I'm totally naïve and don't know anything."  
She took another pause to collect her thoughts.  
"You respect me. And you're not one of those idiots from my school with only sex on his mind and no experience… When you offered me sex with no strings attached, I saw it as a chance to escape that whole kid treatment. Stupid reason, I know. A few times I feared you'd back out, but then it really happened and you were so very patiently taking me through all the steps. I'd heard stories about the first time being painful and rather disappointing, but with you it turned out to be nothing like that. You really took care of me… Suddenly it became really real and it was more than I could've imagined. So much more."  
She looked at him and she could tell that he was indeed listening to her. His body language seemed less tense and the hostility was almost entirely gone.  
"For the first time in my life I felt like I was in the right place at the right time. Your patience while I bumbled, the reassuring tone in your voice, the way you felt inside of me. By the time," she hesitated for a moment, heat rising to her cheeks. "When I came for the very first time, it had slowly become an entirely different ball game. I wondered how it would be to kiss you and acted on it… Without fully realizing it, I'd fallen for it. For all of it. Hard. And then came round two, with you all over me and I loved every second of it. How smooth you moved, how great you smelled, how your skin felt against mine. The warmth of your body… The very intimacy of what we were doing, of what I was doing with you. I let my guard down and surrendered to you without a second thought. It felt like I finally woke up. Or that I could finally breathe. I looked up and I saw you… And I knew that I wanted more, more of this, more of you… You might not know it, but you're a very hot guy, TJ, with an irresistible smile. Smart, sexy, great sense of humor and a little wicked. I wanted," she stopped to correct herself. "I want you, TJ. Not just for the sex, but for everything."  
Fearing his reaction, she decided not to wait for it. Instead she turned on her heels and left his room, feeling emotionally drained.

The sliver of relief she felt upon seeing that her mother had not returned in her absence paled in comparison to the vast emptiness where her heart had been. Surely he would reject her explanation, and she was not entirely sure if she could blame him if he were to do so.  
The tears came the second she lay down on her side of the bed. So many emotions undermined her composure. She flipped over on her stomach and buried her head under her pillow, letting the tears run freely.  
She hated how she felt. Hated that a boy could make her feel this way. She was the daughter of John and Racheal Connor, granddaughter of Sarah Connor. And she was upset over a guy. Is this how Nana had felt after Kyle? She asked herself in thoughts.  
A little while later, she could not tell if it was one minute or ten, she felt a weight shift on her mother's side of the bed. Assuming it was her mother turning in for the night, she made no attempt to remove the pillow from over her head. She could not care whether she suffocated or not. If only the anguish would stop.  
Her mother moved closer and rested a hand on the small of her back. No doubt she wanted to apologize for being so harsh with her, explain that her actions came from only wanting the best for her. Like a hug would make it all better.  
She almost jumped up with a start, in shock, when she felt warm lips softly brush up against her neck. Quickly she tossed the pillow aside and turned her head, only to be met by hazel-colored eyes in which mischief shone and a crooked grin.  
"TJ," she sighed happily.

"You left so quickly I had no choice but to follow, Princess," he smirked.

The gentle manner in which he had said Princess had her heart skip a beat.  
"You're nuts, TJ. What if mom comes in and finds us like this?" She squeaked.

"Like what? We're not doing anything and we're both fully clothed. Besides life would be boring without taking risks."  
"She won't see it like that. Things happen in the dark."

"A lot of things happen in the dark, and not all of them good. Charley said that you should rest up and not engage in straining activities."

She groaned with disappointment. Him looking her up could only mean one thing: he had accepted her explanation. While her heart felt like it was going to burst with happiness, she felt bad that they couldn't properly make up.  
"No sex?" She ventured to ask.

"Nope, no sex. No school or fighting either though," he answered with his usual grin.

"Damn, and I was so looking forward to wiping the floor with you tomorrow morning," she giggled relieved, rolling onto her back.

He moved closer again and leaned over her. She reached up and rested her hand against his cheek, unable to stop smiling until she noticed the serious look in his eyes. Her heart sank.  
"So," he began after taking a deep breath. "I listened to what you said."  
She braced for impact: surely he had only sought her out to let her down gently.  
"I trusted you, Des. And you betrayed that trust."

"I know," she whispered tearfully. "And I'm so sorry."

"I know you are. I think you got caught in the moment and one lie led to another, but I could've and should've taken responsibility for my own actions. And I am sorry for that."

"So what are you saying? Do you want to keep seeing me or are you breaking up with me?" She asked impatiently.

"It may take a while for me to trust you completely again, but I'd like to keep seeing you, if that's okay with you," he answered, treating her to his slow, crooked grin once more.

"Does this answer your question?" She purred while she undid his jeans and slid her hand down the front.

He groaned in agreement when she stroked him softly. It did not take more than a few seconds to have him rise to the occasion. A smirk graced her lips. Maybe they could not have sex in the traditional sense but she could make him very happy nonetheless.  
Obediently he let himself roll onto his back when she gave him a soft push against his shoulder with her other hand. Now leaning over him, she studied his face, his expressions, listening to his breathing speed up and hitch. She had never done anything like this before but the way he was squirming and bucking under her touch told her that she was definitely doing it right. Changing paces, applying more or less pressure, short or long strokes, she enjoyed the power she held over him.  
"Come, Tiger," she encouraged him in a soft voice. "You know you want to."  
His breathing hitched in his chest for a second, followed by a low groan and few strong jerks of his loins.  
"If you're a good boy, maybe I'll use my mouth instead of my hand next time," she giggled while she watched him trying to catch his breath; the look on his face was priceless.

Escaping the curious looks she had gotten over breakfast from John and Racheal, she nestled deeper into the pillows on the couch. TJ had set her up nicely and she felt like a real princess. Waiting for the teens to leave for school, she flipped on the TV. She was half watching some comedy series when her mother switched the TV off.  
"Hey, I was watching-" She began her protest.

"Not anymore. You and I need to have a good talk," her mother gave her no chance to finish her sentence.

"Which comes down to me listening while you lecture me."

Her mother placed her hips firmly on her hips and glared at her: "Don't be such a smart mouth, young lady."

"Why not? All you'll do is preach about morality, me being stupid and irresponsible and what not. And all this while present you, seventeen and unmarried, is getting screwed by one John Connor who happens to be the savior of mankind one day. Not only a double standard, but ultimately gross as well."

The anger on her mother's face became more obvious until it faded into a faint smile and a distant look in her eyes.  
"Oh good god, mom!" She exclaimed with disgust. "Can't you even think of dad for once without going there?"

Confusion sank in when her mother simply sent her a shy, almost apologetic, smile. Nevertheless it did not erase the fact that her mother had been thinking about that. With her dad. She shuddered. As if it was not already difficult enough to deal with this John and this Racheal without her constantly regarding them as her parents. She really did not want to think of her parents like that. The look on her mother's face had not helped one bit.

"Sorry, Dessie. I miss him, you know."

"Wish I could say the same, but he sent me here, so I don't miss him one bit," she lied, trying not to sound upset.

Her mother nodded slowly.  
"I just want to talk, not upset you, sweetie."

She had almost said 'Too late' but stopped herself the very last moment: "Which means a lecture and I'll have to do as I've been told afterwards," she said instead.  
For a second she feared her mother's anger but apparently her mother decided to let that one slide.  
"Are you and the boy still at opposite ends?"

The question took her completely by surprise.  
"He helped me get settled on the couch, didn't he?" She countered with a question of her own.

Her mother sat down in the recliner closest to her and sent her a cryptic smile.  
"Yes, but that could be his sense of honor and duty kicking in. It doesn't mean that you're on speaking terms again. Tyler could argue with John one minute and take a bullet for him next. As he would do for all Connors. It's what he does. Even if he is at odds with any of them at the time."

"Would it matter? If we were still at odds, I mean."

Her mother shook her head slowly and sent her another smile: "I know you don't see things my way, Des, but I do have your best interest at heart. A good mother will always worry, always look after her children first. And you getting involved with someone like TJ is a disaster in the making. I don't want you to get hurt."

"How can you sit there and say that?" She hissed when her temper took over briefly. "If not for him, I'd be dead now."

"Don't mistake gratitude for love, my child. It is a common mistake and easily made."

She knew that her mother probably meant it well but right now it was only adding to her growing temper. Again she was being treated like a four year old instead of the seventeen year old she actually was.  
"I don't," she growled. "I already was with him before that damn can tracked and shot us. Thanks to dad, by the way. And I'm not some kid anymore."

"No, just a lovesick teen," her mother concluded. "I get it. Your first crush, all these exciting and new emotions, but it'll pass. And what if the nanos strike?"

"It's not a crush! And I can deal with the nanos. Already hit him with a chair once and I'll do it again if I have to."

"Brave words. And I do hope you won't have to swallow them soon. But that's not what I came to discuss with you," her mother said in a kind voice.  
She looked at her mother curiously. For a moment she wondered if her mother was finally going to give her 'the talk'. A wry smile formed on her lips. It would be a little too late for that. She suppressed the need to giggle.  
"About you being with him," her mother sighed. "What the hell were you thinking? Unsafe sex. And not once, but twice? Did you even consider the possibility of getting pregnant?"

She had to think about her answer for a moment: "It was a calculated risk, and I didn't get pregnant, did I?"

"Thank the heavens for that. You're way too young and you know what's coming. How could you ever be so incredibly stupid?"

"I don't know, mom. Caught up in the moment and in a lie. After that it was too late."

"Gotta say that you really dodged the bullet, twice," her mother remarked. "And to avoid future accidents I've decided to put you on the pill."

"I thought you said-"

"I know what I said," her mother interrupted her in a harsh tone of voice. "But fact is that you are a Connor. A stubborn bunch. Your Nana, your dad, your sister and now even you. I could forbid you to see the boy but I doubt you'd listen and obey."  
Damn right, I won't, she thought.

"So I gave it some thought and think it is necessary to take precautions. But don't think, not even for a second, that by getting you on the pill I accept this thing between you and the boy. I'll allow it, but I'll never accept it. Not one bit. And there will be some rules for you to follow."

Allow it. At least that was a start. Maybe her mother would turn out to be right, but she had to make mistakes in order to learn from them. How else could she ever shed the image of naïve little girl?  
"Which are?" She asked with an unsteady voice, barely able to contain her excitement over this turn of events.

"I don't ever want to see it. Not ever. No hugging. No kissing. No holding hands. Nothing. The moment I enter a room and you two are kissing, you simply stop."

"So no pda, check. What else?"

"Absolutely no sex in or on my bed. It's already unsettling enough that my little girl is doing it, it's even more unsettling to sleep in a bed my daughter had just sex on."  
She blushed fiercely, though her mother did have a point. How would she feel if John and Racheal decided to use her bed for their pleasures? She almost gagged when her breakfast decided to come up the same way it had gone down.  
"If you two really must have sex, you go to his room."

"No pda, sex in his room, check."

"And as tempting as it may be, you do not stay in his room for the night. You sleep in your own bed. Understand?"

She nodded. The rules were not as demanding as she had feared them to be.

"And finally, if you must do it, try to keep the noise down. One couple openly sharing their business is more than enough."

It was a dangerous question to ask but she had to: "What if I can't help it?"

Her mother looked at her with one eyebrow raised in curiosity: "That's why I said try, Des. Sometimes you simply can't help it."  
She shuddered again since that last sentence spoke of experience. Parents never had sex. They simply played board games to spend time together.  
"Think you can obey those rules?"

"No fooling around in front of you, sex only in his room, sleep in my own bed, be more discrete than Tyler and Amy. Sounds reasonable," she agreed.

Racheal nodded towards the door. "Your friend is here to see you."

Destiny whirled around to see a glimpse of Hannah at the driveway. "Oh."

"Oh, hun!" Hannah exclaimed the second she saw her. "How are you?"

"Could be better, could be worse," she answered with a smile.

"Said the victim of a robbery gone wrong," Hannah added wryly. "You could've been dead."

"But I'm not."

"How can you act so like it's nothing. It's not like this happens all the time."

If only you knew, she thought.  
She looked up in time to see TJ entering the living room. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He gave her a wink when he placed their drinks on the coffee table and disappeared out of sight again.

"Isn't that... TJ Devlin?" Hannah asked shocked. "What's he doing here?"

"Yes, and he lives here," she answered somewhat annoyed with the tone of voice Hannah had used.

"A robbery. A gunshot wound. Harboring a fugitive. Sweetie, what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing."  
"Des, you're obviously in over your head. Whatever he's told you, it's a lie. We can go to the police and have him arrested."

"Why?"

"Don't you know that he spent the last few years on the run from the cops? He killed his own father in cold blood."

"No, he didn't!" She said angrily.

"Sweetie, he's a wanted man. He'll tell you anything to keep out of jail," Hannah sighed.

She heaved a deeply annoyed sigh. Usually Hannah wanted to gossip and talk about boys, but the fact that she did not want to take her word on TJ's innocence bugged the hell out of her.  
"I know for a fact that he didn't kill his dad. And I really wish you'd listen to me, instead of believing all those rumors about him."

"Why are you so defensive of him? Oh god, hun! Tell me you didn't?" Hannah exclaimed upset.

"Didn't what?"

"He's not right for you, Des. He's bad news. Sure, all the girls had a crush on him when he was still in school, but trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went."

No shít, Sherlock, she thought bitterly, if trouble is a machine sent to kill you. She could not imagine that Cromartie was the first machine to try and kill him.  
"He had a slut for a mom," Hannah stated matter-of-factly.

"What?" She asked, her temper rising quickly.

She had known TJ's mother, in another time and place. Robin had been dedicated and loyal, and had put up with a lot of shít from Derek before he decided to hook up with Jesse Flores.  
"Or do you have an explanation for why she died in a car crash, hundreds of miles from home, with another man?"

She did have an explanation, but it was not one Hannah would accept, let alone believe.  
"And his dad. Quite the lady killer," Hannah added. "And then there's TJ himself. Did he tell you he got busted for hacking a few times?"

She forced a smile: "He did. Just stupid kid's stuff. "

"If you call hacking into government systems kid's stuff. There's obviously something very wrong with him and we need to go to the cops before it's too late."

"No, we don't," someone said from the door opening.

"Nana?"

A foul inaudible curse followed and she knew it was not her Nana but Sarah. All of a sudden Sarah was standing in front of Hannah.

"Your family is nuts," Hannah mumbled intimidated.

That was entirely the wrong thing to say around someone who had spent time in a mental institution, but so far Sarah seemed to let it slide.

"And dead, if you go to the cops," Sarah remarked.

"Huh?" She and Hannah said simultaneously.

"He'll kill us all, if you do."

"Who? TJ?" Hannah asked in an unsteady voice.

"No," Sarah answered with conviction. "A dirty fed named Robert Kester."

She settled back into the pillows and watched Sarah take the lead in this.

"What?" Hannah laughed insecurely.

"Oh, you think cops and feds can't be dirty?"

"Yes, eh, no. I don't know. Too much coincidence," Hannah mumbled.

"Sit," Sarah said while she nodded at the recliner. "I'll tell you the truth."

She listened as Sarah told Hannah the entire story. It was admirable how the woman twisted the unbelievable truth to one that did make sense. The best thing was that if Hannah were to make a slip of the tongue, the backlash would be minimal.

"So you see. That's why TJ can't go to the police to turn himself in. That's why you can't call the cops. Everything they'll find here, when they send a team to pick TJ up, it'll end up on Kester's desk," Sarah concluded.

Hannah was silent for a few long moments and then nodded: "I get it, Miss Sanders."

"Good," Sarah said with a slow smile. "I'll leave you girls alone now."

Sarah turned on her heels and left the room.

"Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Hannah said. "Poor TJ."

She nodded in agreement.

"So you and TJ, hmm? Sean will be heartbroken," Hannah teased.

"Sean? Really?" She looked at her friend with a deep frown. "He's like the least mature boy of our year."

"Yeah, but he likes you. Heard from Cass that he was planning to ask you to the next dance."

"Right, like I'd say yes," she remarked, rolling her eyes. "Sean's an idiot."

"Yeah, but a hot idiot."

She shook her head tiredly and faked an amused smile: "Have you seen TJ? He's way hotter than Sean."

"So you admit that you think Sean's hot?"

"Nope, I don't," she laughed.

"Right, since you've got TJ now. He does know that he's your boyfriend, right?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked annoyed.

"Just saying. You wouldn't be the first with an imaginary boyfriend."

"Oh, I'm pretty damn sure that TJ knows, Han."

Hannah gasped in shock: "Nooo... really, sweetie?"

"Really what?"

"You and him. You did it already?"

She blushed fiercely. There was no use in denying it, but it was not something she wanted to discuss with Hannah. Especially not after Hannah tried to make TJ look bad, didn't want to believe her and the whole Sean discussion. The walls had ears in this house, no different than the whispers in the tunnels.  
"Com'on, Des. Details. How was it? How was he?"

"Jeez, Han," she squeaked embarrassed.

"What? Just curious."

"Well, it's none of your business," she grumbled.

Hannah shrugged and handed over a stack of papers. "Brought your homework."

"Oh.. Thanks."

Hannah smirked. " I figured you had enough on your plate as it is, so I fixed up a cheat sheet at the back."

Destiny grinned. " Awesome. Thanks. "

Hannah smiled.

It would take two weeks before she would hang out with Hannah again, but in a way those weeks had gone by in a flash since TJ insisted on taking her on little, harmless road trips. This world still amazed her in many ways.  
It had promised to be a warm day so TJ had suggested a day at the beach with Hannah and his friend Rick. It had not turned out quite as planned with John throwing a temper tantrum when he learned of their plans for today and decided he and Racheal should come along as well. It resulted in Cameron coming along as well. Sarah's orders.  
"Here you go," TJ said with a crooked smile while he held out an ice cream to her.

"Thanks, Tiger," she answered with a grateful smile, taking the ice cream from him. "Sorry about John and Racheal though."

"He's just a little girl who throws a fit when things don't go his way," he remarked. "Can you believe that I've been told to take a dive the next time it comes to a fist fight with him? Just because his overgrown ego, it would be devastating to lose."

"Really? And will you?" She asked curiously.

"Won't like it, but I suppose I will. All for the good of the cause," he sighed.

She understood his annoyance, and really wished she had not said anything to Racheal about going to the beach this afternoon.  
"I wonder if she'll rust if we threw her in the ocean," she said, looking in Cameron's direction.

"John would throw yet another fit if we tossed his pet can in the water," he chuckled.

She laughed and elbowed him softly in the ribs: "You don't have to keep sitting with me, if you want to hang out with Rick."

"I'm sure that Rick can do without me for few minutes, unless Hannah decides to slap him again," he chuckled again.

"What?" She tried not to laugh.

"Yeah, Rick's idea of a good time is pulling birds."

"Pulling birds?"

"Hitting on them to take them home later on," he explained.

"Oh," she giggled. "Hannah's not like that."

"He'll be in for a treat then."

She glanced at him and immediately looked away again. He was just too damn hot, only wearing swim trunks and aviators. Only two weeks down and two more weeks left to go. Silently they sat there for a few minutes, eating their ice creams, watching the others play in the surf. She felt like rambling and bit her lower lip to keep herself from doing so.

"Des?" He asked in a soft enough voice to have her look at him again.

Her heart beat frantically when she realized that he was a lot closer now than a few minutes before. Gently he put an arm around her shoulder and leaned in. She leaned towards him and stifled a giggle when she felt his cold breath brush up against her lips.  
His lips brushed up against hers and she put an arm around his neck to pull him even closer. A soft moan escaped her before a deeper feeling of frustration settled in the depths of her stomach. How on earth could she get through the remaining two weeks without giving into her own desire?

"Get a room already," John stated gruffly, causing her to back out of the kiss.  
Without any parental supervision, she glanced at John and flipped him off. He laughed amused: "Frustrated much?"

"Mind your own damn business, John," she growled through gritted teeth.

"Kinda hard to do when you play sucky-face in public with the guy who's supposed to be my best friend in all of this," John countered.

"Best friends don't steal girlfriends," TJ interjected.

Her temper rose quickly. She tried not to think about TJ and Racheal all that much, but now that it had been brought up, she wondered what had been up with that.

John glared at TJ: "She wasn't meant for you."  
"Oh, I know. That's been made pretty clear, but that doesn't change the fact that you only started to notice her when I hung out with her. And just like a spoiled little kid, you threw a fit and moved in right under my nose," TJ growled.

"Better late than never," John smirked.

The look on TJ's face did not bode well and for a moment or two she worried that she had break up a fight soon.  
"Now," TJ began. "I'm actually glad that you did. It was a great trade up."

"Hey!" She cried indignantly. "I'm not a car! And it's still, eh, will still be my mom you're talking about."

John sent them a victorious smile, turned on his heels and left to find the others.

"Spoiled little shít," TJ grumbled underneath his breath.

Angry with him, with John, she turned and punched him hard on the shoulder: "Jackass!"

He rubbed his forehead and sighed: "Sorry, Princess. I shouldn't have taken the bait."

"Don't Princess me, you jerk."

"I didn't mean," he stopped mid-sentence and heaved a deep sigh. "He just got on my nerves."

"He gets on everybody's nerves, but that's no excuse to compare me to a car or put Racheal down like that," she hissed.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay. Didn't mean it like that and it sounded a lot better in my mind. All I meant to say, was," he stopped again.

"Was?" She asked impatiently when he did not continue his sentence.

"Never mind, anything I say will get misconstrued. So I'm sorry for being an idiot and I'm sorry for putting my foot in my mouth," he said gruffly before he got to his feet.

"Guess John got what he wanted, again," she sighed in defeat.

"All I wanted was a nice afternoon, with you. But the Buttinskis had come along and, oh look, we're having an argument," he growled while he looked towards the ocean.

"It's not an argument, TJ. It's just. I'm not a thing and Racheal is no less than me."

"I know, Princess. Only said it to get on John's nerves, not yours."

She patted on the towel and sent him a warm smile: "I know, Tiger. But you and her."

"Wouldn't have lasted," he added after he sat down next to her again. "She runs away when I get a 'headache'. You simply smack me across the shoulders with a chair when I do," he said with a slow smile. "Lucky for you, I like it rough," he teased.

She gave him a playful push on the shoulder and laughed when he let himself fall on his side: "Such a silly boy."

"Boy?" He echoed while he raised his eyebrow sardonically.

"Man," she giggled when he sat up and reached for her. "I meant man."

By the end of the afternoon, all were in good spirits. Until Cameron had to spoil it by droning: "Time to go home now."

"Nope," TJ chuckled. "Destiny and I have other plans for this evening."

She looked at him curiously. Normally she did not like surprises but TJ's kind were all fun or sweet.

"It is unwise-" Cameron began.

At least the machine had left out 'tactically'. She rolled her eyes.

"Save it," TJ interjected. "I cleared it with Destiny's mother and with Sarah. So now be a good sister to John and take him and Racheal home," he added in a commanding voice.

For a second she worried that Cameron would answer him with 'sir' since the tone of voice he had used had not differed much from Tyler. Cameron reacted with a slight head tilt.  
"Hannah, you ready to go?" TJ asked in a much friendlier fashion.

"I can take Hannah home," Rick offered. "To make up for being a complete jerk earlier?"

"No funny business, Rick," TJ warned him. "I will hunt you down and seriously hurt you if you do."

"I promise. No funny business," Rick said intimidated.

"Hannah?"

"Fine with me," Hannah answered.

She looked at him, at his face, as he spoke and pointed out the constellations and the major stars that were in it. Such a smart man. A familiar feeling fluttered deep inside her stomach.

"Just too bad that it's almost full moon," he said. "Too much light pollution for the Milky Way to be really clear tonight."

She managed a smile and looked towards the sky once again. It was not that it did not interest her because it did. Just not now. Not here. So once in a while she would look up at the night sky and acknowledge what he was pointing out, but it did not keep her attention. The rest of the time, she would look at him, study him, listen to his voice.

"I bet," she said in agreement.

It was so nice to be alone with him like this. Instead of at home, where they had to be on guard, with the huge chance of someone barging in and demanding attention one way or another. Especially John could be such a drama queen, like he had been earlier today.  
So far it had been a perfect night. The romantic picnic at the hidden cove. The easy conversations. The star filled night. And him. There was not another place in the world where she would rather be right now.  
He was very sweet and attentive, even getting the extra blanket from the car when she had gotten a little cold. It looked like it would remain a headache free day for him. She moved closer to him again.

"Still cold, Princess?" He asked with a mixture of concern and amused.

"Just a little," she admitted.

He put his arm around her again and hugged her closer.  
"You smell so good," she sighed, breathing in his scent mixed with his after shave when she rested her head against his shoulder.

He chuckled. On a whim she brought her mouth to where his neck and jaw met and softly kissed. He purred softly, causing her to giggle. It was such a shame that she could not do with him what she would love to do with him, so she opted for the next best thing. She placed a series of soft kisses along his neck and throat.

"Des, we can't," he said in a gentle voice.

"You can't, Tiger, but I can," she said with a smirk while she slid her hand down the front of his t-shirt "Just lay back and relax, Tiger," she purred before she gently pushed him on the chest.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she quickly pressed her index finger to his lips to silence his protests. Obediently he lay back on the blanket and she took the chance to straddle his lap.  
"Princess," he breathed. "No sex."

She could not deny that she had thought about it; it would be the perfect ending of a perfect night. Nevertheless Charley had not forbidden straining activities for nothing.

"Relax, my overly worried boyfriend," she teased.

Traditional sex was definitely out of the question; the physical strain of the act would likely lead to injury or wound tears and an even longer recovery period. Now it was still another two weeks but who knew how much more time would be added if she were to take the risk. Not that she did not feel tempted.  
Still, she wanted to do something very special for him and thus she had decided that it was time to make good on her promise.  
Looking down at him, a smile playing on her lips, she slid her fingers down his chest and stomach, only slide them up his t-shirt again, slowly revealing that hot upper body inch by inch. Just two more weeks, she told herself in thoughts, when her wanting him almost got out of hand.

"Destiny," he mumbled when she softly scratched his chest.

"TJ," she countered with a smile, helping him out of his t-shirt.  
He growled softly when she showered his chest and stomach with wet kisses, playfully running his hands through her hair as she moved down. His groans of enjoyment were music to her ears, encouraged her to move even lower. He was in for quite the treat. She kissed him along the waistband of his board shorts.

"Baby," he breathed.

She slid her fingers under the waistband and pulled his shorts down, releasing him. A deep whimper of want and frustration broke in the back of her throat when she saw him stand tall and proud. There would be nothing easier than taking her own shorts and briefs off and having him. She managed to resist the tempting ideas flooding her mind.  
Taking it as a moment to calm down and collect herself, she took his shorts off.

"Torturess," he said in a soft, warm voice.

"You know it, Tiger," she giggled before she leaned over him and showered his lower abdomen and groin with butterfly kisses, running her right hand up his right inner thigh, very softly scratching his skin.

He gurgled and shuddered when she ever so softly brushed her hand up against him. In a certain way she was impressed with how much self-control he seemed to have. Another part of her found it disappointing for all the wrong reasons.  
She glanced up at his face and smirked; the poor man was practically dying to be put out of his 'misery'. A loud groan escaped him when she tenderly cupped his balls and played with them.

He raised his head and looked at her with feigned anger: "Holy hell, woman, you'll be the death of me," he growled.

If she had not seen the hungry look in his eyes or the devilish grin playing on the corners of his mouth, she might have mistaken it for real anger. She almost burst into laughter.

"Tshk, tshk. Patience, Tiger, patience," she told him. "Or I won't suck that big dick of yours like it's the sweetest lollipop in the entire world."

She saw him gulp nervously, in anticipation. He was trembling under her hands. And she was well aware that she was playing with fire, because even his patience could come to an end. It was wearing pretty thin already. Yet she took her time to admire him from up close. This was it, the moment of truth. Did she have the guts to go on or would she back out? It was unfamiliar territory for her, but that had never kept her from doing something new before. She wanted him to be happy, only thinking of her.  
Pushing aside all doubt and hesitation, she leaned in closer and ran her tongue over his entire length.

"Princess," he groaned while gasping for air.

"Tiger," she giggled.  
The fact that she had left him breathless for a moment, she took it as a good sign, a sign to continue. Another lick, another gasped groan. Carefully not to graze him with her teeth, she had read that it could be extremely painful if she did, she took him into her mouth.

"Oh... damn," he grunted when she started to suck him.

Her heart somersaulted in her chest before racing. Gentle and explorative. She put her right hand around him and began to move it up and down, in sync with her mouth. He writhed and twisted under her tender touches.  
It did not take her all that long to find a steady rhythm. She moaned softly for his pleasure. He kept running the fingers of his right hand through her hair, tenderly caressing her.

"God, you're big," she whispered after she let go of him for a bit to catch her breath, trying to keep her rhythm by continuing to stroke him.

It took her a little while to get the hang of it, but she did manage to find a steady rhythm. Her heart raced in her chest and her body and mind ached for him, responding to his increasingly seductive groans of pleasure. Teetering on the edge of her own sanity, she fought to keep her self-control.

"Gonna... come," he groaned, his breathing rapid.

It was thoughtful of him to let her know he was close, yet it did not matter since she had already made up her mind the moment she had decided to give him his very special treat. As she sucked and licked, she had taken him in more and more, with a tricky moment being when his length had reached the back of her mouth, but she hadn't gagged. She let go of his balls and put her hands on his behind, his muscles flexing under her fingers.  
He surrendered himself to her completely in a hitched groan, writhing and jerking under her touch, and she eagerly swallowed all he gave. Very much to her own surprise it did not taste as bad as some of the things she had eaten back home. Even then hunger had been the best sauce. After one last tender suck, she let him go before glancing up at him. His chest was rising and falling rapidly.

"Holy... fúck," he managed to say.

She lay down next to him on the blanket, turned on her side to look at him and sent him a warm smile. His heart hammered in his chest, she noticed when she placed her hand over his heart. Without warning upfront, she felt insecure again: she had looked up some hints and tips on the internet but that did not necessarily mean she had done it right, especially since it had been the first time she had ever done such a thing.

"You like?" She asked after a long minute of contemplation.

"Like? I love, Princess," he answered in a drowsy manner.

"Really?"

"Really. Never had a woman do that to me before."

"Really?"

For the simple reason that he was a handsome man, she found that hard to believe. However the fact that he thought of her as a woman, and not a child, gave her confidence a good boost

"Hmm-mmm," he yawned. "Gonna close my eyes for a few and then we should head home."

She giggled giddily; it was a very interesting choice of words.  
Worried that he might get cold, she put the extra blanket over them and curled up to him, resting her head on the crook of his shoulder. What harm could there be in closing her eyes for a few minutes as well?

Woken by the screeches of seagulls, she sat up with a start, blinking against the hazy, early morning light. Shock grasped her heart. She had only closed her eyes for a short bit and now it was already light out. She searched for her cell phone and looked at the display. It was still really early, but late enough. The number of missed calls told her that much.

"Teej?!" She said in a firm tone of voice, nudging him.

"What?" He growled annoyed.

"We fell asleep. It's morning already. Oh, and mom is going to kill us."

He sat up, pulled the blanket to him and rubbed his face: "If she is, we better enjoy our last moments. How 'bout we pack up and stop for breakfast on the way home?"

It would probably make matters even worse, but she decided to take him up on his offer: "Sure, now hurry."

Quickly she grabbed his t-shirt and shorts, tossed them to him and began pulling on the blanket so she could fold it up.  
"Seriously, TJ?"

"Sorry, Princess," he sighed, slipping on his shorts. "It's not something I have control over. It just happens. I wake, it stands."

She laughed slightly embarrassed. Still it was a good thing to know.  
Less than an hour later, TJ let the jeep pull up to the house. She had just gotten out when the front door swung open and her mother stormed out of the house.  
"Destiny Sarah Connor! Where the hell have you been? And why don't you answer that fúcking cell phone?"

Uh oh, her full name and cuss words. It did not bode well. She looked to TJ for a few seconds. He seemed very composed.  
"It's my fault, Mrs. C," he said calmly.

"Of course! Always pushing the limit. Always the little bit further than is wise," her mother fumed.

"I was showing Destiny the stars-"

"Oh, I bet you did," her mother interrupted, sounding even angrier.

"Mom!" She exclaimed. "He did. Ursa Major and Minor. Cassiopeia and all. Back home we check the sky to see if birds are coming, but here. I saw millions and millions of stars, and he pointed out the major constellations. The sun was coming up before we knew it."

"The sun's been up for nearly two hours, Destiny," her mother stated.

"Yeah, we know, Mrs. C.," TJ jumped in. "But we figured, since we were already be in trouble, we'd stop for breakfast along the way."

"True," her mother agreed, much to her surprise.. "You're both in a world of trouble."

She glanced at TJ again, who reacted with a simple shrug of his shoulders: "Don't think I'm in trouble," he stated very calmly.

"You'd be surprised," her mother said with a similar calmness.

He shook his head and smiled slowly: "Not much you can do about that, Mrs. C. I appreciate the roof over my head and the training, but that doesn't mean I am bound by your rules."

She looked back at her mother, who was rubbing her temples with her index and middle fingers.

"Stubborn little boy," her mother grumbled. "Not all that different from the old one at all."

Maybe TJ had come away with it, but she seriously doubted she would be that lucky.  
"Destiny, in the house. You're grounded indefinitely. TJ, garage, Tyler has been waiting for you." 

Two Weeks Later

She rolled onto her back, folded her hands behind her head and looked at the ceiling, thinking about the day ahead. In a short while her mother and her would go and see Charley, who then would determine if she was fit or not.  
Could she deal with another week or two of inactivity? The fact that she had been grounded for staying out all night two weeks ago would not have been as bad if she had been allowed to do stuff around the house. But she had been ordered to be still as a statue.  
The worst part of it all was that it felt like TJ was starting to lose interest in her. She had even talked to her Nana about it, but the latter had had no answers for her.

She fidgeted nervously in the passenger seat, waiting for this since day one. The second Charley had confirmed she was fit and ready for active duty, her mind had become consumed with just one thought.

"Earth to Destiny," her mother's voice droned somewhere in the background.

"Huh?" She mumbled before she shook her head to clear her mind. "Sorry, mom," she added with a sheepish grin. "My mind was somewhere else."

"That much was clear," her mother agreed. "Him, no doubt. You know how I feel about that."

"I know, mom, and though I appreciate your concern, I'm not a little girl anymore."

"No, you just prefer acting like one most of the time."

A sigh of exasperation passed her lips; she was in no mood to argue with her mother about her behavior. An argument could jeopardize her plans, if not destroy them altogether.  
"Why him?" Her mother asked after a long silence. "You know who he'll be. What he'll become."

"I don't know, mom. It's not like I decided on a whim to fall for him. It just happened. He's sweet and caring, funny and charming, bright and sexy."

Her mother's annoyed groan brought a smirk to her face: "I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

"That's not it, Des," her mother paused for a few seconds. "The Connor genes are strong in you, but there's a bit of Sanders in you as well."

It confused her. Apparently her mother could tell because she went on to explain: "Those traits you just mentioned, those were exactly the reasons why I was drawn to him in the first place. But unlike you, I couldn't deal with his 'dark side'. It scared the hell out of me, drove me straight into your father's arms."

The explanation confused her even more: "Almost sounds like you regret your decision."

Her mother shook her head vehemently: "Oh no. I don't and I never will. But sometimes I do wonder what would've been with different choices. But I never ever regretted picking your dad over Tyler. Despite all the rotten things your dad has done, I love him so much. And he did give me Katya and you," she finished with a warm smile.

She had no idea what to think, what to make of her mother's revelation.  
"So what are you saying, mom? Are you still in love with Tyler?" She asked appalled.

Her mother laughed amused: "I never was in love with him. At least not really."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She bit defensively.

"I was in love. With a feeling. You need to understand that I had just lost my mother to the machines. Tyler understood, both his parents killed by those metal bastards, and he comforted me. He offered me his shoulder to cry on when your dad was emotionally unavailable. It lead to a few hugs and kisses, and I mistook comfort, gratitude and friendship for something it wasn't. Tyler's a good friend, who has gotten my family out of more jams than I wish to remember, but he never ever made me feel the way your dad does."

"How... How do you feel with dad?" She asked with some hesitation, realizing it might lead to things she definitely did not want to hear from her mother.

"I don't know. It's difficult to put into words, without getting overly sappy. I feel safe with him around. Cherished. There's danger for us around every corner, but when it's just him and me... That kind of safe. When he's not there, I feel like I'm choking. Like I can only breathe with him around."

"Oh," she muttered.

"It's how you feel about TJ, right? Safe? Like he's the air you breathe?"

She tried to shrug nonchalantly, like her mother was nowhere near being right about that: "No one's ever safe."

Her mother chuckled: "Thought we'd just established there are at least two kinds of safe. Besides I know you, Destiny. You're not fooling me."

"More like trying to fool myself," she mumbled a bit upset.

All her wild ideas had been flushed from her mind and deeper thoughts had taken over. Her mother reached over, took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. The action took her completely by surprise, just like the soft-spoken: "I'm sorry, sweetie."

"What? No 'I warned you'? No 'I told you so'?"

It sounded harsher than she had intended. Still her mother's change of heart made her wonder about the motives behind it.  
"What use would that have, Des? I still strongly disagree with you seeing that boy, but things are as they are. You didn't choose to feel for TJ. Unlike your dad, I think I do have a pretty good sense of your type of guy. And regretfully TJ fits that description perfectly, something your dad failed to see when he decided to send you here."

"So what are you saying? You knew about TJ and me? Was I in your teen years?"

"No and no. And I had hoped that I had it all figured out wrong, that you wouldn't fall for a guy like TJ. But I know Tyler, and I know that he's always been good to his dates or girlfriends or whatever you want to call it. He was always straight up with them, no expectations and with that no disillusions. I doubt TJ's any different."

She could tell her mother that wasn't true. TJ had lied to her by omission, had tried to make her believe he had cared for nothing more than a good lay, but she had not exactly been honest in the matter either. Besides had it not been to shield his heart, to keep his feelings under wraps.

"Taking me back home wasn't the only reason you jumped time, was it?"

"It was the main reason, yes, but preventing you from meeting a young and charming TJ was another. I had really hoped to find you before they would so I could limit the damage to a minimum. Things would've remained so much easier if you'd only known Tyler as the gruff, menacing Devil."

She shrugged again: "Forgot about Nana, did you?"

Her mother chuckled again: "That I did. She's Wonder Woman. Hard example to live up to, so I never even tried."

"I didn't mean to really like TJ, mom."

"I know you didn't, sweetie."

"It just happened."

"I know."

"It's just... It's just extremely hard to see him and lug nut as one and the same person."

"And yet, technically they are. War changes everyone, sweetie. Tyler has a reduced fear reaction, which makes him unafraid of stuff that would make any other **** their pants," her mother paused again. "Tyler's the only person we know who ever made it out of U-Section alive, but it changed him. To the extreme."

"U-Section?" She echoed.  
She had heard war stories about it. It was the most gruesome section of Skynet's most notorious death camp, Century.  
"You mean... He's an Undertaker?"

Her mother nodded slowly: "U-Section is equal to death, but somehow he managed to escape from it. Whatever he experienced or witnessed down there," she stopped mid-sentence, the rest unspoken.

It made it even harder to see TJ and Tyler as one and the same person. Knowing TJ now, knowing what he would go through, for the first time in her life she began to understand how the Devil had come to be.  
She had sided with her peers, with the people who had called him a humachine, an abomination. She had argued with Kyle over why he had sided with Tyler and not with the rest. Without knowing the full story. She had tagged along, basing her opinion on that of others.

"In this war we all pay a price. We sacrifice a part of our humanity to survive. He paid with his entire humanity."

"Yet he blames dad for that."

"They blame each other, sweetie. They're both no angels. However your dad could've undone, compensated for what Tyler gave up down there and he chose to willingly withhold that from Tyler."

"Meaning?"

"You think it's a coincidence that Tyler and Amy hooked up in the here and now?"

She pretended to gag.

"I should've kept my mouth shut to your dad when I saw how Tyler took to Amy after the big escape from Century. Maybe I should've helped fate a little, pushed them towards each other a little more. Instead I listened to your dad and helped him keep Tyler 'confined'. He can be so convincing, so determined and I believed him when he said that Amy would be a distraction, a possible weakness to Tyler."

She had no idea what to say. The idea of denying someone love, even if it was the devil, seemed utterly cruel.  
"John feared that Tyler would be a lot harder to persuade to take on suicide missions if he had someone he really cared for," her mother elaborated. "So if Amy was on the base, Tyler was out on some mission and vice versa. They didn't get the chance to really meet and hook up, but here and now, your dad isn't there to keep them apart."

"I don't think even dad would be successful in separating them," she chuckled. "Not even with a crowbar."

"Destiny," her mother sighed, trying to mask the laughter in her voice.

"What?" She asked with faked innocence.

"I don't think you really understand how the nanos come into play in this, do you?"

"Okay, what do the nanos have to do with Tyler and Amy enjoying each other's company so much?" She took the bait.

"Remember how you whined to Nana about TJ supposedly losing interest in you and gaining interest in hitting the weights? And that she said that it would pass?"

"You eavesdropped?" She cried embarrassed.

"Technically, yes. But about those nanos, Baxter studied them back home and discovered they somehow manage to store their host's excessive energy, only to use it against him later on. The more is stored, the easier it is to try a hostile takeover. Tyler is pumped full with those things and back home it wasn't really a problem because he could go out and junk a few cans, but here," her mother paused. "Luckily Amy's very willing to catch up on lost time with him and burn some excessive energy in the process."

"That explains lug nut. But what about TJ?"

"He's not so corrupted by the nanos yet, but he's already discovered that his headaches get more severe over time with too much energy left. So he works out a lot, which will only benefit him later on."

"So? I'm a conductor of some kind? Like Amy?" She asked rather offended.

"In a way you both are," her mother answered honestly.

"So this whole love is the key is bullshít?"

"No, that's true. Love lets you calm him down, bring him back when he does go tin can mode. It's the only way to get through to him," her mother replied in a grave voice.

"Sounds like you know what happens if people don't get through to him."

"I've seen it. This young sniper, Porter, she had the hots for Tyler, even thought she was involved with him. Skynet-mode hit. It didn't end well."

"He killed her?" She gasped in shock.

"No, she got away. A broken arm and permanently deaf on one side. I don't want to think about what would've happened if Kyle hadn't been able to knock him out."

"Nothing good, I am sure," she sighed.

"And we would've blamed Tyler. As usual. Even when Tyler tried to kill Kyle, Kyle understood it wasn't Tyler and looked him up in solitary."

"Sounds like something Kyle would do," she agreed with a smile.

"What's going on now?" Her mother exclaimed when they pulled into the driveway.

John and Tyler were caught up in a heated argument outside of the house.  
"... Mean to shoot him," she heard John protest when she opened the door.

"Shoot who?" She immediately asked.

"Oh, John shot TJ," Tyler answered. "Nothing serious. Just a through-n-through."

"You shot TJ?" She asked, wanting to make sure she had heard it right.

"It was an accident," John protested vehemently. "Rache left a gun on the kitchen table, I picked it up to secure it, it went off."

"Of course," Tyler said with disdain. "You need to get your head back in the game, kid. Before someone gets hurt or worse."

"It was a freak accident. If I had wanted to shoot him, don't you think my aim would've been better?" John defended himself.

Tyler shrugged: "No idea, kid, on how good your aim is nowadays. If you're firing, it's not at a target."

"Damn, Tyler," her mother spoke her thoughts aloud.

Tyler crossed his arms across his chest and stared at John: "I know you fúcked up his mind and his system already, but that doesn't make him suitable for live practice. Next time I won't shove him in the closet and you can fend for yourself. Got it, kid?"

All of a sudden the overwhelming feeling of needing to know if he was okay took over and she stormed into the house.  
"Don't need enemies with friends like that," she heard him quip in the kitchen.

"You know that he didn't mean to shoot you," Sarah sighed.

"I know," TJ admitted.

"I don't think Ty would've shoved you into the closet if he had thought John had the intention of shooting you," Amy added to the conversation.

"Damn, and I just love coming out of the closet," TJ joked.

She stopped in the door opening and looked at TJ buttoning up his shirt. Sarah and Alex both sent her an apologetic smile while Amy only shook her head and tried to hide her grin.

"You okay?" She managed to ask.

"I'm fine. Just a scratch."

"Tyler said it was a through-n-through."

"Nah, the blood made it look worse than it was," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Just a little accident."

"How can you be so cool about it?" She wondered aloud.

He shrugged his shoulders: "Thought it would bring a headache when it nicked me. Lug nut musta thought the same since he shoved me in the closet. Still he couldn't have had more than a few seconds to see the wound."

She looked at the four of them and frowned: "Where's Racheal?"

"Most likely hiding. Ran off after the shot. So probably in her room, cowering under her bed," Sarah answered wryly.

Amy shook her head wearily: "She's a lioness when it comes to one of her kids, and a decent fighter if need be, but she's no warrior. More a strategist."

Her first reaction was to come to her friend's, her mother-to-be's defense. However in all her memories she could only remember her mother as fierce when either Katya or she had gotten into trouble. Her mother was strong, just not in the way all these warriors were. She wasn't a Sarah Connor or an Amy Adams.  
Instead she looked at TJ again and wondered about the wound. Worry took over and drove all her wild fantasies from her mind.

"You really okay?" She asked to make certain.

"I'm fine, Princess," he answered with a big smile. "How'd it go with Charley?"

"He sees no reason why I can't go back to whatever I was doing before I got shot," she replied in the most neutral manner.

"So you're cleared? That's awesome news," he said with great enthusiasm. "That calls for a celebration."

She smiled insecurely: "Sure, but can I talk to you first? In private?"

He walked past her and now with his back turned towards her, she took the opportunity to check him out. Dark red short sleeved dress shirt, black slacks and black sport shoes. She sighed wistfully; he was looking sinfully hot. Dressed to the nines, but not for long. Not if she had a say in it.

She had lured him to his room under false pretences, not to have a chat but to have him. After making sure that the door to his room was locked, she grabbed him by the arm, pulled him back and against the wall.

"Des?" He grunted, a slight confusion present in his voice.

She smirked. Like he had not seen this coming. A month was a very long time, even if she had made him a very happy TJ on occasion. An exciting shiver of wanting him ran through her.  
He did a step towards her, but she shoved him back against the wall. She slid her hands over the soft fabric of his shirt.

"I hope you're not too attached to this shirt," she said with a wicked grin.

"Huh?"

Unable to suppress the giggle, she grabbed the plackets and yanked his shirt open. The buttons flew everywhere and tapped on the floor.

"Better. Much better," she breathed, sliding her hands over his pecs and six-pack abs.

"So that's how you want to play," he purred while he treated her to his familiar crooked grin.

The odd feeling in the pits of her stomach grew strong again, as it always did when he looked at her a certain way or gave her his wicked grin. He tried to do a step towards her again and she pushed him back against the wall before he reached for her but she pushed his hands away. His low purr of excitement did not go unnoticed to her and it brought a smirk to her face.  
He shuddered and let out a deep growl when she ran a hand over the prominent bulge in his pants and made another attempt to grab her, which had him ending up against the wall again. She wagged her index finger at him and he groaned in disagreement.  
Growing increasingly impatient, she quickly undid his belt and his pants, only to push the latter down enough to free him. There was definitely a huge benefit to dating a guy who liked to go commando; it meant one piece of clothing less to remove.  
A soft moan of want escaped her when she glanced down. He stood upright and proud in arousal. Her body responded to the sight of him.  
Suddenly it felt like she had no second to spare. She undid her jeans, yanked them down to her ankles along with her panties and stepped out of them. Now it was her turn to shudder when she caught the hungry look in his eyes.  
She moved close to him, kissing him ever so softly where his jaw and neck met. He answered with a soft purr.

"I want this," she said in a voice husky with lust, taking hold of him. "In here," she groaned as she pressed him firmly against her.

A very seductive growl passed his lips while he crouched down. She straddled his legs and moaned softly while she pushed him into her slowly. His warm hands on the backs of her thighs to support her, just before he stood up straight again. Deeper, she felt his heat sink into her. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from groaning loudly. To feel him so deep inside of her was. Fulfilling.  
She placed her hands flat against his cheeks and looked deep into his eyes before claiming his mouth in a passionate kiss that only lasted a few seconds. A low moan of expectation rumbled in her chest when she found herself wedged between him and the wall all of a sudden. She sent him a reassuring smile when she saw the look of worry on his face.  
It was endearing that he kept thinking about her wellbeing first and she playfully tugged his hair. She gasped in pleasure at his first thrust. Oh good god, that felt good.  
After wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders, she showered his neck and jaw with kisses. She could not get enough of him and told him with a carnal kiss. Greedily swallowing his growls of growing pleasure that followed every thrust.

"Oh fúck yes," she groaned almost out of breath, digging her fingers deep into the soft flesh of his shoulders. "Oh fúcking god! Like that! Fúck me like that!"

He answered her request with a deep growl and more force to his thrusts. Arcs of sensation. Sparks of pleasure. Following up in faster succession. All meshing at the core of her being.

"Please," she muttered, moaning uncontrollably at every thrust. "Don't stop."

All she could feel was him, his smooth moves and the hot tension brewing deep within. No more coherence of mind, all thoughts fleeting. She pulled him back a little by his hair and glanced at his face. Beads of sweat trickled down his brow, down the sides of his face. He managed to grin crookedly at her when he caught her looking at him, but he did not slow down.  
His thrusts became harder, more decisive. The tension deep within grew beyond control. Accepting. Resisting.

"Oh! Fúck me!" She squeaked, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and shoulders.

More of him. Deeper. Closer. Her mind began to crack as the pleasurably tense energy swirled stronger and stronger deep within her lower abdomen.  
His pace was unrelenting, each thrust accompanied by a low groan. Closer to the blissful abyss. Almost.

"Oh guh…od! Tee…Jay!" She howled right before her mind shattered when the ecstatic release shook her entire being.

Wrapping herself tighter around him, trying to match his rhythm to prolong this amazing feeling. It felt like she was floating on a cloud. The world outside had dimmed and all she saw was him, all she felt was him.  
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, groaning and growling, and she could tell he was getting close as well; he was breathing heavily. She moaned with surprise when he pressed on one last time and pinned her firmly against the wall.

"Oh, Des," he gurgled out of breath.

She managed to bring her hand up and playfully ruffled his hair while she felt him contract deep inside of her. A sigh of content passed her lips, only to be followed by a soft shriek when he seemed to lose his footing and stumbled a little but he managed to regain his balance.  
She turned her head a little and softly kissed him on his ear before whispering: "Good tiger."  
He was still a little shaky on his feet but it did not keep him from leaning back a little to send her a warm and sincere smile. It was enough to make her feel all warm and fuzzy again.  
Carefully, as to keep his balance, he crouched down again. It took her a while to understand his silent request. Reluctantly she disentangled herself from him and got to her own feet, whimpering softly when she felt his warmth leave her. Her legs began to buckle and she leaned back against the wall to remain standing.

"You okay, Princess?" His voice was a bit hoarse.

"I'm fine," she replied. "More than fine, actually," she added with a smirk.

She looked at him, her eyes half closed. He looked rather disheveled; his shirt in shreds, his pants around his ankles. Evidence of a rather wild encounter. Her body reacted to the sight and she groaned with desire anew, to sigh appreciatively when he took his shirt off and revealed more of his lean and muscular body. She winced when she saw the bandage covering his right upper arm near the shoulder.  
He sent her a funny look, which caused her to giggle. Just a certain look or that slightly crooked grin was enough to feel like she had a flock of butterflies in her stomach. He took the rest of his clothes off and lay down on his bed.

"Come here, Princess," he said in a gentle voice, showing her his grin while he patted on the empty spot next to him. "Or did you really think I'd let you off with only once?"

Heat surged through her body again and she wheezed with anticipation. Without a second to lose she quickly took off her tank top and her bra. He laughed amused when she jumped on the bed. Barely able to control herself, she lay down on her back next to him; she had not planned past this first time in what appeared to be ages.  
"Maybe you should consider wearing skirts, Princess?" He suggested, leaning over her to look at her face.

"Why? I don't really like skirts, and they're horrible to fight in," she answered, desperately trying not to drown in his eyes.

"Just practical thinking, baby."

"Practical how?" She wondered aloud while her heart beat wildly at the notion of him calling her 'baby' instead of 'Princess' or 'Des'.

His grin turned deliciously wicked.

"Next time, it would simply be a matter of hiking up your skirt and pushing your panties aside," he explained in a very seductive tone of voice.

"Oh," she mumbled, feeling like she was blushing all over.

It was not that she was blushing with embarrassment, but with the totally obvious inexperience she had just shown.

"I don't know, TJ. Mom isn't stupid. If I would start wearing skirts all of a sudden," she paused for a moment. "It won't take her long to put one and one together and she will only allow so much."

"It was just a suggestion, Princess, so that next time you want me that badly it's only zipper down and skirt up."

She giggled and gave him a playful push against his shoulder: "You're horrible."

He looked her in the eyes again, seemed to think about something for a minute and began to smirk.

"Now, if I were horrible, as you said, I wouldn't be doing this," he said in a low purr before he leaned down, tenderly cupped one breast with his hand and showered the other with feather light kisses. Her hands shot up to his head, her fingers delving into his hair. A deep moan escaped her.  
Another loud moan shook her chest when his tongue circled lazily around her nipple before he suckled it softly. Her thoughts swam and drowned in a lake of incoherency.  
"Just give into it, baby," he purred again.

Allowing herself to wallow in growing pleasure while he divided hand and mouth time between her breasts equally, she ran her hands through his hair, played with it, tugged it.

"Such a good man," she sighed, biting her lower lip to keep herself from moaning too loudly.

Her breath hitched in her chest when she felt his lips softly graze the skin of her abdomen. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his tender nips and kisses, only to open them in sweet surprise when she felt his hand brush up against her between her legs.

"TJ," she whispered wistfully when he removed his hand. "You're evil."

She raised her head a little and glanced down his body. Her heart practically somersaulted in her chest when she saw he was standing proud again. She reached for him and gently stroked him a few times. A deep groan rumbled in his chest.

"Oh really?" He asked with a seductive growl.

She nodded eagerly and spread her legs. He sent her a hungry look, put his hand between her legs again and tenderly touched her.

"Not the thing I'd hoped for," she breathed, writhing under his touch.

"And what had you hoped for?" He asked with feigned innocence.

"Something big and hard, like this," she answered while she reached for him again and gave him a very gentle squeeze.

He growled again before continuing his little game: "And what would you want with it?"

"Oh, I don't know," she sighed, feigning innocence. "What could a woman possibly want with a thing like that?"

"No idea," he answered with a grin.

"Oh, that's too bad. Such a nice piece of equipment and its owner has no idea how to use it," she teased.'

"Shame, isn't it?" He laughed. "Maybe you can give me a few tips?"

"Why don't you start with lying down on top of me?"

She roared with laughter when he climbed on top of her. Somehow she loved this kind of silliness.  
"Now what?" He asked, pretending to be clueless yet again.

"Now you take this," she began when she reached down and took hold of him again. "And put it in here," she moaned softly while she eased him into her.  
She gave him another playful push against his shoulder when he made mo attempt whatsoever to move. He was being so very silly, which was endearing in a strange way.

"Kinda boring," he remarked after a few moments.

She giggled: "Well, it would really help if you moved, and I happen to know for a fact that you've got some great moves."

"For a fact, huh?"

"Experienced it myself."  
'Myself' became long and ended high-pitched when he drove himself into her deep and hard.

"Like that?" He asked in a sensual growl.

"It's a start," she forced herself to sound neutral.

"Oh really?" He grinned amused.

"Uh huh. If anything, you should know what you're doing."

"Had a good teacher," he whispered before he kissed her where her neck and jaw met.

His answer could have fed her insecurity, could have lead to an argument, but it did not. Instead she did not care where he got his skills since he was using them on her.  
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to wallow in his undivided attention. There was not a place in the world where she would rather be that instant. She let her hands wander over his shoulders down to the small of his back. Exploring. Discovering.  
He reached back and took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, before bringing them up over her head and pressing them firm but gently into the pillows. Heat surged through her veins when she realized that he was pinning her down, that all she could do was completely surrender to him.  
Slowly she opened her eyes and found his face at just a few inches from hers. She lifted her head in an attempt to kiss him, but he was out of reach. Unable to touch him. Unable to kiss him.

"Bad tiger," she murmured.

"You don't mean that," he said in a soft voice.

"Nope. Not bad, just evil."

He treated her to his most wicked grin: "Evil, huh?"

"Definitely," she answered with a nod of her head.

"Hmm, I think it's time... To teach you a lesson," he growled in a sensual way.

"A lesson?" She squeaked. "What for?"

"For being a bad, bad girl... Better be ready, Princess, because I'm going to tear you up."

Her heart somersaulted in her chest with anticipation: "Promise?" She breathed.

He looked her straight in the eye, a grin playing on the corners of his mouth. He did not even have to say it; she could tell by the look in his eyes. Pinned down, an unspoken promise.  
The mere suggestion was enough to make her... A deep thrill shot through her, caused the muscles in her calves to strain painfully. Her breath hitched in her chest and escaped in a long sigh.

"Did I say you could come already?" He growled in her ear.

"No, but," she stammered, searching for the right words in her jumbled mind. "This. With you. What you said. Sorry, Tiger."

She heard him chuckle. All of a sudden she felt really stupid. It was all part of the game.

"I need to be punished," she offered in an attempt to get things back on track.

"What am I to do with you now?" He whispered in her ear.

"Anything you think I deserve," she breathed.

His deep groan caused her to giggle; it certainly had sorted the right effect. She wanted him to know that she was up to anything, as long as it was with him. A deeper emotion surfaced and she bit the inside of her cheeks. Did she dare tell him? Did she want him to know?

"I trust you, TJ," she said instead.

He looked at her curiously and treated her to his crooked grin. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he know? What she had actually meant to say.  
"The real question is... can you take it?" He asked in a sultry whisper.

She arched away from the bed when he drove himself deep and hard into her once.  
"More," she pleaded with him.

"More, huh?"

She nodded eagerly, grinding her hips against his: "Make me scream, Tiger," she demanded.

Slight disappointment ran through her when he let go of her wrists; she had totally loved his dominance over her. He steadied himself on his hands and smirked at her. When he almost pulled out, she was ready to beg and plead with him. She threw her head back and howled when he returned to her. Deep. Hard.  
"Want more?" He growled sensually in her ear after he lowered himself a little.

"Oh fúck yes!"

"Take it," he growled again.

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes when she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep herself from howling. Her mind began to slip away from her even more; all she could see was him, all she could feel was him. Each thrust, deep and hard, seemed designed to drive her closer to the edge of bliss.  
She ran her hands over his chest, scratching him lightly, before sliding them to his behind. A silly giggle escaped her and he sent her a confused look. She giggled again and gave him a firm slap on the backside. He let out a deep growl before he pulled out and sat back on his knees. Had she misread it?

"TJ, I-I-I-...," she stammered utterly confused.

She almost shrieked when he grabbed her by the legs and rolled her over on her stomach. His warm breath caressed her skin when he leaned over her and placed soft kisses down her spine. She trembled uncontrollably at his tender attention; her worries about doing something wrong all dissolved.  
Without giving it another thought, she pushed her hips up from the bed instinctively, even if it did make her feel awkward a little for a few seconds afterwards, with her face buried in his pillow and her behind up in the air. A moan of want and anticipation was muffled when he moved close again, his thighs supporting hers. That very moment she did not care how he would take her, just that he would take her.

"You've got a great ass, Princess," he purred appreciatively while he rubbed her behind with his left hand.

She moaned softly, enjoying his tender touch, before she squealed with unexpected delight when the rub was followed by a firm slap with the flat of his hand. Oh god, she thought, take me now. On a whim she pushed her behind back, deep into his lap, his hard manhood pressing against her comfortably. To let him know she was so very ready for him, one way or the other.

"Tshk, tshk, such impatience," he said in a soft voice that did not mask his amusement.

"Please, TJ," she mumbled after she had turned her head little to be heard and not muffled. "You're killing me."

"Ass or *****? Decisions, decisions, decisions," he chuckled before he rubbed and spanked her again.

"Don't care, TJ," she growled in growing frustration. "Pick one and fúck me already."

It came as a disappointment as well as a relief when he made up his mind and picked the 'safe' way. She wanted him to be her first in everything, but she was not sure if she would have been ready for 'that', despite her feelings at that moment. Not that soon anyway.

"Good god," she moaned when he filled her up again. "Such a big... boy."

She grabbed the pillow and buried her face in it again to at least muffle her cries of pleasure a little as he continued to caress and spank her backside.

"Think you learned your lesson?" He groaned when he pulled back a little and returned to her.

It was a final push. Suddenly she started to tremble all over as a powerful surge of pleasurable energy rocked her body. She pressed against him, but could not help the feeling of falling, shattering. His hands came to rest just above her hips and she sighed happily: he was right there to catch her.

"Guess not," he said, unable to hide the laughter from his voice. "Time for another lesson."

So far his thrusts had been equal, timed, measured even, but now he began to alternate. A series of quick and shallow, followed by a few slow and deep ones. His hands pulled her to him while he pushed to her. That little extra.

"Oh... my... fúcking... god!" She wailed into the pillow as the tension in her lower abdomen grew stronger and stronger again.

No more mercy from him; he was thrusting hard and unrelenting, like a man possessed, her backside colliding hard with his lap again and again. She could not expect any more from him than he had already given her. Her muscles started to strain. She fought to postpone, to resist, but she stood no chance against his onslaught. Bright spots danced before her eyes as the enticing tension reached new heights, causing her body to twist and strain.

Her resistance cracked. Her mind shattered. Her body reacted instinctively. The world faded, in sight and sound. Just then and there. Just him and her. His hands kept her in place, kept her from toppling when he drove into her one last time full force and surrendered to all she offered with a beastly groan.  
Gasping for air, her heart hammering in her chest, she eased herself down on the bed, even though it did mean that he had to leave her, but she was drained. Laying on her stomach, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing.  
A slow smile formed on her lips as she watched him lay down next to her. His chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath. Deeply satisfied, she closed her eyes and felt herself drift off into a slumber. She moaned softly to his soft touch on the small of her back.

"Come here, baby," he requested in a gently voice.

Somewhat reluctant but most lazily she rolled onto her back, only to turn on her side and cuddled up to him. He put an arm around her and took her hand into his. She put her head on his chest and listened to his strong heartbeat while closing her eyes again.

"You okay, Princess?" He asked with concern. "Wasn't too rough or anything?"

"I'm fine, Tiger, and you were just perfect," she answered drowsily.

"Perfect, hmm? Compliments like that could go straight to my head," he teased.

"Horny devil," she said without a second thought, only to realize the devil reference could have been one of the worst things she could ever have said to him.

"Evil angel," he chuckled.

Relief ran through her when it did not set him off. There was a huge difference between 'devil' and 'Devil', at least to her and apparently he had made that distinction as well.

She lifted and turned her head to look at him: "A man true to his word," she stated with a smirk when she caught him looking at her. "You tore me up good, my pet," she giggled. "Almost had me pass out with delightfulness."

He treated her to his wicked grin before whispering: "I aim to please."

"So I've noticed," she giggled, feeling really silly all of a sudden. "Hey, I've got a riddle for you."

He burst into warm laughter: "Really? You can ask me anything and it's a riddle?"

She tried not to feel hurt; her timing was indeed off, but it felt like it was now or never.  
"Oh com'on, TJ, it's a good one," she coaxed.

"Hmm, alright. Shoot."

"What did one volcano say to another?"

He looked at her confused for a few seconds, shook his head and sent her an apologetic smile: "No idea."

"I lava you," she said almost inaudibly.

Her heart hammered wildly in her chest and her cheeks felt like they were burning hot.  
"I lava you?" He echoed.

She felt really stupid now.  
"I love you?" He continued. "You love me?" He asked surprised.

She nodded, smiling self-consciously: "I do... I love you, TJ."

It had been a silly riddle. That much was clear. He kept silent, only looking at her. She felt like fidgeting: he had told her before that he loved her, on more than one occasion, but now she was dying to hear him say it back to her. Seconds felt like minutes.

"I love you too, Destiny," he finally said, accompanied by the goofiest grin she had ever seen from him.

She smiled from ear to ear: "You are so silly."

"Princess?" He sounded rather confused.

"You know, I used to hate that name: Princess," she said, rolling her eyes to emphasize her point. "Still do, but when you say it, like that," she paused. "I just melt."

"Princess," he interrupted her rambling.

She stopped mid-sentence and looked at him curiously. He reached out to her face and softly caressed her cheeks before placing his hands on the back of her neck, tenderly urging her to come closer.

"No need to be so chatty," he whispered.

He closed the distance and pressed his lips softly on hers. She whimpered softly. Her hand slid down the middle of his chest and over the ridges of his six-pack.

"Have another round in you?" She asked after breaking off the kiss.

He did not have to answer that question because she could already tell from the look in his eyes and that crooked grin on his face. Her heart began to race.

She glanced at him from under her eyebrows and felt that enjoyable warm feeling in the pits of her stomach again. Not daring to look at him for too long, she returned her attention to her plate again.  
So far dinner had been rather silent and pretty homely, but she knew that it wouldn't, couldn't last. Not with Connors and Devlins at one table. The Connors were already quite dysfunctional on their own, but add a few Devlins and it was waiting for pandemonium to break loose.

"So," Tyler began. "Turns out you can be quiet, Silver Spoon."

Of course. It had to be him to start things. She rolled her eyes and thought about flipping him off. The quick shake of her mother's head had her decide not to.

"Mind your own business, Tyler," her mother said instead.

The spark of mischief in his eyes, the smirk on his face did not bode well. He took it as a challenge.

"Would love to, but it's damn hard when your kid's sharing hers so readily with the entire world," he said in a leveled voice.

"Ty," Amy muttered, giving him a firm elbow in the ribs.

"Yes, yes," her mother grumbled, looking sternly in her direction. "Her indiscretion did not go unnoticed, but it won't happen again. Right, Des?"

"Sorry, mom," she mumbled with hot cheeks, feeling like a chastised four year old once again. "I tried but-"

"Ty, don't," Amy told him in a strict voice, interrupting her.

"The boy's just that good," Tyler finished the sentence for her.

She glanced at TJ, who had taken a great interest in his dinner all of a sudden. Was he embarrassed? Or simply trying to avoid getting sucked into this? She leaned forward a little and tried to get a better look of his face; he was smirking? TJ would be Tyler. Of course, he would find this situation amusing.

"This is just so dead wrong," Racheal voiced her opinion.

"I agree," John chimed in.

"Sure you do," Tyler remarked, the amused grin still very present. "Disagree and you won't be getting any later."

The look on John's face was one of shock and anger.

"Now look what you've done, Ty," Amy sighed while she shook her head slowly.

Tyler just grinned like the Cheshire cat.'

Suddenly John turned to her: "TJ? Really? You had to pick him?"

"Excuse me?" She seethed through gritted teeth when his tone of voice caused her temper to flare up.

"You're way out of his league," John continued without taking notice of her anger.

"Hey!" TJ growled annoyed. "What the fúck, man? Am I a mutt or something?"

"Yeah," John said with a smirk. "A goddamn stray alright. Mom took you in and this is how you repay her kindness. By taking advantage of a little girl."

TJ jumped to his feet, his chair hitting the floor with a loud bang, looking like he could jump over the table and attack John in a matter of seconds: "Care to repeat?"

Before she could react, Sarah remarked in a calm voice: "Sit down, TJ! And leave me out of it, John."

"Mom?" John exclaimed genuinely surprised. "Don't tell me you approve of this, this freak show?"

Sarah heaved a deeply annoyed sigh: "Since you don't understand the point of leaving me out of this. Yes, I approve. Destiny is not some prize poodle with a long pedigree, and TJ certainly is not a stray mutt. We are all ordinary people put in extraordinary situations."

"Damn right I'm not," she grumbled under her breath.

"TJ's the only one who doesn't treat Destiny like some unable, naïve little kid. He's good to her, and quite frankly she needs a break. You can only go for so long before something has got to give or it simply snaps. She likes him, he likes her. So I see no reason to keep them apart."

"Yet you don't want Racheal and me together," John stated matter-of-factly.

Sarah smiled slowly: "It's a mother thing, John. I'm sure that Racheal feels the same about TJ and her daughter. Yet she'd approve of you and her younger self."

"Wow, it's almost like I'm not even here," she grumbled under her breath while she put her knife and fork down before she got up.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Her mother wanted to know.

"You talk about me like I'm not even in the room, so I figured I'd do all of you a favor and leave," she answered as neutral as possible. "TJ, you coming?"

He looked up, the fork halfway up to his mouth, and frowned deeply: "Huh?"

She glanced at everyone at the dinner table before letting her gaze rest on John. A victorious grin formed on her lips: "This prize poodle would love to be mounted again by the stray mutt."

Her mother fumed. "Sit..back...down.. this second or you will never sit again so help me god."  
Seconds passed.  
Destiny and her mother stared each other down in complete silence. Destiny took a step towards the stairs. Racheal scooted her chair back.  
Tyler's eyes danced back and forth as if It was an interesting game of tennis.  
Reluctantly Destiny dropped her gaze and went into the kitchen to put her plate up.

The younger Racheal snickered until her older self looked at her with confusion.

"You mastered mom's look. She would have been proud." Her younger self said wistfully.

The older Racheal lost herself in thoughts as TJ got up to put away his plate.  
John turned his head towards the window at the sounds of sirens and nudged Racheal to change the subject. "Must have been bad wreck."

Sarah looked at the police car approaching and frowned.

Cameron tilted her head in interest. "Two cars would be sufficient to respond for a collision. They would not need the others."

"Others?" Sarah asked.

"Fifteen."

John snorted. "What do you need fifteen cop cars for?" He froze when they spread out in a surrounding manner.

"John run!" Sarah called out.

The older Racheal whipped her head out of the clouds and yelled towards Destiny's direction. "Get out of here!."

John grabbed Racheal's hand and ran towards the back door as their street became flooded with cops. TJ and Destiny had jumped the fence and took off running through the neighbor's yards.

Tyler got up calmly from the table and walked to the door. Racheal shook her head. "We just need time, Tyler. Don't scare them too badly."

Sarah grabbed a few guns and made her way to the cars as Tyler tossed cops like ragdolls. Cameron ran out the back door in the direction the kids had ran.  
The kids stopped a full mile from the house when Destiny fell to the ground, clutching her side in pain.

"Destiny, come on. We can't stop here." TJ said.

Destiny winced.

May 1, 2017.  
Destiny held her scraped knee. "Daddy, it hurts."  
"Come on," John gestured to the end of the hall. "You still have to run. I know it hurts but you have to keep moving . Being still means being caught." He pulled her to her feet. " Running will always be a way to save yourself. You have to keep running, even if you're hurt otherwise you may be hurt worse by staying still. Do you understand?"

She thought for a moment. " Like that man that hurt you. If you had stayed there, you woulda been hurt worser but when you'd runned away, you only gotted hurt a little bit?"

"Exactly. Now, I want you to run to the end of the tunnel as fast as you can go and when it hurts, take a deep breath , breathe through the pain, ok?"  
Destiny nodded bravely.

May 20, 2010

Destiny nodded to herself and got back up. "I know a place to go. Where we can hide."

TJ nodded. "Ok. I'll get us a car and we can drive then. We can get there faster and we wont leave any kind of trail."

Racheal smiled. "Good idea, TJ." John rolled his eyes.  
TJ kissed Destiny's temple and took off towards the sound of cars.


	15. Chapter 14: Broken Soul

**_Reader's Discretion is advised. Mature Readers sexual content. Not suitable for young readers._**

 _Now I'm living at the mercy of the hourglass_ _  
Threatened by the mysteries of the day_ _  
All I have are the memories and the photographs_ _  
Regretting things that I forgot_ _to say_

Tyler threw cops around like they were nothing more than rag dolls. Distracting them, intimidating them, causing the intended chaos so the others could make a clean getaway. One of the police officers managed to shoot Tyler in the arm. He roared like a wounded lion, stalked over furiously, menacingly, only to grab the man by the throat and slam him through the windshield of his patrol car.  
"That hurt," he seethed, feeling a familiar tingle at the base of his skull.  
He had to keep it lighthearted and not let rage take over, not let Skynet take over, but as a means to work off the excessive energy stored in the nanoattrioids, this was perfect. Though he was most sure that Amy would have a few choice words about his injuries later on.  
Time to continue this little dance with LA's finest. An amused grin graced his face while he cracked the knuckles of his fists, his eyes scanning the 'battlefield' in front of him. He was definitely enjoying himself. If only those pesky cops realized that shooting at him was damn annoying and would not help them one bit.

After TJ successfully boosted a car, Destiny gave him driving instructions to an abandoned tunnel in downtown L.A..  
"We can hide out there until this blows over," she stated as he turned the car off the main street into a dark back alley.  
"A base in the future?" TJ asked as he dimmed the headlights and squinted to see in the deep dark shadows of the night and buildings.  
"Yeah, it'll be Bridge Bunker," she answered. "Pull over here."  
He nodded, letting the car run stationary as the others got out.  
"You're not coming?" She asked, leaning into the car on the passengers side again.  
"Gotta ditch the car first. Kinda suspicious. Stolen car in a back alley. Saw a seven-eleven a few blocks back."  
"I like the way you're thinking," she smirked, paying no attention to the groans of disgust coming from John and Racheal.  
She could make out his mischievous grin in the very scarce light of the dashboard.  
"Shouldn't take more than a few minutes... Anything we need from the store?"  
"You're kidding, right?" John exclaimed annoyed.  
"No, not really."  
"We're fugitives. We've got like every cop in the city looking for us and you want to go for a grocery run? Are you nuts?"  
TJ laughed amused: "Don't worry. It'll be fine. Back in a few."

"Be careful, Tiger," she said before she closed the car door and ushered John and Racheal deeper into the shadows.  
"It really is disgusting, you know," Racheal complained, clearly referring to her romantic involvement with TJ.  
"Welcome to my world," she reacted with a smirk.

Racheal shivered as they sat down far from the entrance. "Bit cold in here," the girl complained as she rubbed her upper arms to get warm.  
It was moments like this that she had to remember Racheal had nowhere near the level of experience of discomfort the rest of their little band had. She looked at her boyfriend who simply shrugged. The chill didn't seem to bother him one bit. No doubt the nanoattrioids doing.  
"We could all snuggle up. Combined body heat will warm you up in no time. " TJ suggested with a wicked smirk. "Though skin on skin works a lot faster. Clothing just gets in the way." He added with a quip.  
Racheal laughed nervously, and she gagged at the suggestion. Was he really forgetting who they were destined to be? It was a very sick idea. She noticed John eying the tunnels around the corridor and standing up while pulling Racheal with him.  
"What?" She asked.  
TJ rolled his eyes and snickered: "He's wanting to warm you up, among other things."  
John gave TJ a look of distaste who had obviously mastered feigning a look of innocence. She nudged his arm. His little game had lasted long enough.  
Racheal looked rather lost and lowered her voice. "I don't have any seeds with me."  
In tune with his future version, of course TJ could not pass up this opportunity and piped up: "I'm sure he'd be willing to give you some of his. Think that was his plan."  
"TJ!" Destiny slapped his arm.  
"What? Just trying to be helpful."  
Another masterfully feigned look of innocence, this time directed at her, had her roll her eyes in annoyance and disgust.  
Racheal sighed. "Then stay out of it. None of your business anyway."  
"Oh, I'll gladly stay out of your business when you learn to stay out of mine," TJ countered without missing a beat.  
Racheal simply scoffed and followed John down the corridor. TJ snorted amused, and she worried about what went on in that thick skull of his. It couldn't be good.  
"Could have offered some guy, guy and girl action. Doubt momma's boy would have the guts to do it though," he stated as he made no attempt to hide his amusement from his voice and face.  
Destiny looked at him in utter shock and disgust. He really had a very twisted mind. Most of the time she loved what he could come up with, but now was not such an occasion. The idea was sickening, making her stomach churn violently. "My mom, TJ," she dry-heaved.  
"I know. Wouldn't go through with it... Just would've liked to see the look on his face."  
She shook her head and turned away from him. In a sense her mother was right; he was always looking to push the limits. For now he had pushed it too far and she couldn't face him.

Racheal, Sarah, and her older self had checked into a luxury hotel. People always thought that some obscure motel was their best bet at evading whomever was chasing them, but it was a known tactic thus completely ineffective. Without drawing attention from the desk and the patrons, they had carefully unloaded what few items they could take with them; Guns, ammo, IDs, cash. All was neatly laid out on the table. Her older self had decided to name herself Alex, since she liked the name and wanted to avoid confusion. Alex sat at the table and did inventory. Racheal paced back and forth nervously before coming to a sudden halt and stating: "Going to need to find the kids. Meet up with Tyler and figure out where to move next."  
She nodded in agreement. The whole team had been shattered by the sudden police raid. With John missing, she found it hard not to start pacing herself. She could only hope that their first contingency plan had taken effect.  
"The game plan was to meet up by the harbors in case of separation. Stay there two days max and then move on. If they are not there by then..." She left the rest hanging in the air.  
"Then they're dead or arrested." Racheal finished.  
She rolled her eyes when a voice took over the room. "No. John escaped from a Mexican jail once in less than a day. Destiny escaped a Skynet work camp in four hours. TJ has the nanos and Racheal has a very keen ability to strategize. It is highly unlikely they would still be in jail for the allotted waiting time. Given their own series of skills, if captured they would escape in precisely eight hours at most unless the four of them were to be separated from each other."  
Sarah smiled with false warmth. "Ah, Cameron... I sure was beginning to miss your logical explanations."  
"Thank you." The machine replied.  
"Please shut up." Sarah retorted.  
Alex stared off into space. "John escaped the jail with help from Ellison and Destiny did not escape Century on her own, I got her out," she said with some hesitation as if she spoke the memories as they happened to return.  
Racheal smirked. "Good to see you're almost you again."

John rubbed his right hand across Racheal's collar bone, down her breasts and to her hip. She smirked.  
"You warm?" He asked.  
"Yeah."  
"Good." He said and leaned further down to kiss her. Tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, he smiled. "I love you.  
"Not Just because of…"  
"The fact that we're naked, rubbing against each other to keep warm? Nah, it's nice but not why I love you." He finished.  
She kissed him back as he slipped something on her hand. Surprised she broke away from the kiss and looked at the ring he had placed on her left ring finger.  
"John?"  
He took a deep breath. "It's not an engagement ring, Rache. It's uh... more of pre-engagement ring? Like a promise-ring or something? I mean… I want you to be my wife, just I'm not ready yet. "He sighed. "The future is pushing things at us too quickly. A year from now, the world will end. We'll be soldiers in a war instead of kids at school. You'll be my wife and second in command, TJ will be my one of my best men and within three years, we will suffer miscarriages but we'll have two daughters... The future moves too damn fast and I do want those things with you, Racheal... But for now, I just would like to be your boyfriend and take it one day at a time. I want to choose you because I want you, not because the future has foretold it."  
She looked at her ring. A white gold circle, hidden underneath two rows of tiny diamonds. A large heart-shaped ruby crowned the center.  
"One day at a time... I think I can do that." She smiled.  
He kissed her again. "I love you." He let his right hand glide down her breasts again to her hip and inner thighs. He looked her in the eyes and he pushed her thighs apart, waiting for her to refuse him. Slowly he climbed on her and rocked his hips against her. Racheal moaned as she felt him stiffen.  
Slowly John slid off of her, grabbed her hips and took a long look at her.  
"Jojo, don't tease." She whined.  
He smirked, crawled on top of her again and pushed himself inside her. After she let out a rewarding moan, she pulled him closer and kissed his neck.  
He buried his face in her chest and thrusted hard against her. She arched her back and moaned in response.  
As if on cue, TJ's voice ruined the moment. "John, pull it out an pack it up. Time to get moving."  
John stopped thrusting and took a deep breath that spoke of annoyance. "Leave, TJ."  
TJ chortled, clearly entertained by the fact that he had caught them in the act. "We've been here long enough. Time to leave, so pull your dick out of her and get dressed."  
A roaring laughter broke the silence. "Couldn't have said it better myself, kid." Tyler laughed amused.  
John rolled his eyes, decided there was nothing else he could do given the situation they were in now and continued to thrust as Racheal panted harder and harder.  
"Five… more minutes" He mumbled as the delicious strain tempted him to throw caution and decency to the wind.  
"Now!" Tyler's voice boomed startling them into stillness.  
Strong hands closed around his upper arms as Tyler reached over and pulled him from Racheal as she tried to hook her legs through his for security.  
"Damn you."John muttered as his breathing hitched.  
"She's done anyway, kid" Tyler said while he hauled him over and dropped him next to his clothes.  
All the while Racheal remained sprawled out on the ground, panting heavily until embarrassment sank in. Turning scarlet all over, she grabbed John's shirt off the floor and slipped it on while John quickly put some jeans on.  
"Geez, do you mind?" Racheal complained as she caught Tyler's dark look in their direction.  
The hulking man arched an eyebrow sardonically and said in an authoritative voice: "Get your stuff and get up. We need to get moving."  
Crossing his arms and staring down at them, he didn't move one inch. She glared. "I'd like some privacy first."  
His eyes began to sparkle with mischief and he snorted. "Shoulda thought of that before you jumped each other in the middle of the corridor... But don't worry... There's hardly or no room for shame in the future so it's good practice... Besides, I've pulled babies out of you. I've already seen it, girl. Now move."  
As the group emerged from the hideout, they found the older Racheal waiting for them in a car with the engine running.  
"Plan B?" She barked angrily before she pulled Destiny into a hug to check her for injuries.  
"Really, mom?" Destiny protested.  
"Get in," Tyler ordered while he got behind the wheel.

"You have to be ******* kidding me," Tyler growled when the headlights of their car bathed a human form that was waiting for them on the road in bright light, his hand automatically reaching for his shoulder.  
"What?" Racheal asked.  
"Damn metal juice! All lean to the right and hold on!" He barked, swerving the car violently to the left.  
The front bumper scraped the asphalt as the front of the car dove deep into its suspensions at the steep angle. He had to try because hitting the human form was an even worse option. The car protested at the abuse by shaking and swerving nearly uncontrollable at the invisible forces pulling at it.  
Metal collided with metal as the human form stretched out an arm towards the passing car and formed a knife. Tyler swallowed the growl as the tip speared through the drivers door and nicked his side. Just another addition to his ever-growing collection of scars, and better him than the kids.  
The knife tore the drivers side to shreds, but as he had instructed all passengers had moved to the other side to balance the car. Undoubtedly the liquid terminator had punctured one or both tires, and the car was considered a total loss.  
A split second decision, he yanked on the steering wheel and the handbrake, causing the back of the car to slide away from his control, hoping it would knock the terminator back and buy the kids some time.  
"OUT!" He boomed as the terminator got knocked back a few yards. "RUN!" He added, slamming his shoulder again the mangled door to open it.  
He had to buy them time. With his future long gone, any sacrifice would not be costly if that meant John and the others would live. He nearly fell out of the car when the door suddenly gave way.  
Scrambling to his feet quickly, he rolled his shoulders and stormed up the machine: "Time to tango, metal motherfúcker!" He growled, ramming his left shoulder into it to send it stumbling back to the floor.

"RUN!" She barked decisively at the stalling teens.  
She could tell that the force of her voice had startled her daughter, but it was not something she could deal with right now. The kids' safety was their first priority.  
"GO!"  
She pushed at John and Destiny, hoping they would get the hint. Her younger self had taken off like an arrow from a bow. What felt like minutes, only seconds she knew, the teens finally came to their senses and ran off in the direction they had come from, cutting through the fields.  
She should go too, but a glance over her shoulder told her that Tyler was in serious trouble. He was buying them time, hoping it would be enough for a clean escape, but he was bleeding pretty badly.  
"GO!" He ordered her as he managed to dodge another slash at his abdomen.  
She swallowed hard. The man had no reservations about death, knowing full well that it was part of his existence, but could she really walk away. He had saved members of her family so many times over the years.  
He growled like a wounded monster when the knife connected with his side, bore right through his flesh and pinned him to the wrecked car. People would mention that someone would curse like a sailor, but they had obviously never met Tyler. He was uttering the foulest curses and insults now, trying to get free again.  
She couldn't let him take the fall. She knew that she should. If Tyler was no match for a T-thousand, she definitely had no chance in hell. He had fought all sorts of machines, but Skynet had put out a model even he could not junk with his bare hands. The mercury killer, deadly shape-shifter was nearly invincible.  
She pulled her nine millimeter and emptied the entire clip. A useless action since the shape-shifter simply absorbed the bullets without a dent. It turned its head to look at her, withdrew the knife pinning Tyler down and drove it through her abdomen in no more than a second.  
A loud howl of pain pierced through the night. Hers. She had miscalculated the distance. The T-thousand retracted its knife, looked at both its victims with its head slightly and took off after the teens. It wouldn't be enough.  
Time slowed to almost a standstill. As her knees buckled and she began to fall, she watched as Tyler pushed himself up from the ground. Damn nearly indestructible, she thought darkly, but it's still a chance.  
She groaned when she hit the ground. This was it.  
"I'm so sorry," she muttered as the pain rendered her mind incoherent. "I'm so sorry."  
Tears slid down the sides of her face, as life seeped from her. She looked at the night sky. So many stars. Destiny had been right. It was lovely to watch those indeterminable amount of stars without the fear of being spotted by a Hunter-Killer.  
Resigning in her fate, of her impending death, she kept looking up. Praying that the nanoattrioids would do their work and Tyler could attempt to buy the teens so more time again. The T-thousand was gone and all that remained was silence. She had always thought she would die in the heat of battle, and not on the side of some deserted road. Even if it was the result of war.  
Noise. She focused on her hearing, anything better than the pain in her abdominal region, and heard footsteps fast approaching. Male. Running. Gravel sliding. She was so damn cold.  
"I'm so, so sorry," she muttered one last time before darkness overtook her.

She shook uncontrollably, her emotions completely raw. Tyler had ignored her every question about her mother, but she had heard the cry of the dying. A cry she had heard many times before, back home. This time the cry had been her mother's, but John had refused to let her go, had dragged her along, despite her struggles to break free.  
The sound of metal colliding with metal, the roar of an engine revving up behind them, adrenaline and defeat had fought a bitter battle with one another. The jeep had sped past them, its tailgate lowered and in the bed had stood the Devil. One by one he had pulled them into the jeep, to discover they were another man short. Her boyfriend had disappeared into the darkness of the night as well. Her mother. TJ.  
She had cursed Tyler to hell and back for ordering Derek to drive them to their new safe-place, but he had simply ignored her, resorting to silence as he had kept scanning the road behind them as they had sat in the jeep's bed. She hated him!  
She hated him even more now, with his iron grip on her arm while he had escorted her to the hotel suite. The slight hope her mother and TJ had come in before them shattered upon only finding Alex, Sarah and Cameron waiting for them. John, Racheal and Derek had come in after them, quietly, their faces telling of a tragic event.  
The only compensation there was, to her, was that Amy was missing too. At least the big jerk was getting a taste of his own medicine. However it was a joy she couldn't relish, because Amy had done nothing wrong.  
Now she could feel her heart breaking. Her chest tightened with every sob she managed to suppress. The world shattered. Nothing more than an illusion. This whole time. Her life in both world, her father's bedtime words. It was all a big fúcking lie. A grand deception.  
There was no safe. No peace. No happiness. There was nothing but words. Lie stacked upon lie, turning words into meaningless sounds. Bla-bla to ease the pain and relieve the guilt. All lies!  
'No one is ever safe. You're not safe, Destiny,' her mind spun monotonically. 'Not awake. Not asleep. Not in the future, nor in the past. People die. For John. For you. We love. We lose. We try to bear it but sometimes the pain is too much to be tolerated. Sometimes people snap. Kyle died. Derek tried to eat his gun and would have succeeded if Jess hadn't startled him. Nana isn't even the same anymore. She's broken too. Everything's meant to be broken... The Devil had been right when he had quoted Plato once again: now death is not the worst thing that can happen to men; far worse are the punishments which are said to pursue them in the world below. Hell. It can't differ much from the life I live now.'  
Suddenly she knew. There was only one way to get out. Only one way for the pain to truly end. With no belief in the afterlife, she would finally be at peace and safe from all the horrors and lies that made up this world. She flung the duvet off of her and took off in a mad dash, out of the room, the suite and down the hall towards the elevator.  
"Devlin!" She heard Alex snap behind her. "Catch her."  
With that order, she knew that her attempt to flee, to seek the final solution to end the crushing pain was over the second she heard _him_ behind her. For a moment she was amazed how silently he could actually move for such a big guy. Under normal circumstances she already could not outrun or outsmart him, but in her current state it was even worse: next to impossible.  
"Let. Me. Go!" She hissed when his right hand closed around her wrist.  
She tried to yank herself free, to no avail. At least he had been so kind as to use his good hand, and not that damn iron claw.  
"Hold up, kid," he said in an unusually gentle voice.  
"What? No Princess or Silverspoon?" She snapped at him after she spun around, glaring daggers at him.  
"And what good would that do?" He countered with a smirk.  
Not much, she agreed.  
"Look," he began, continuing in that gentle voice. "I know you're in a really dark place right now-"  
"What the hell would you know?" She hissed furiously. "Aside from... It's all your fúcking fault!"  
"More than you think... So come with me and we'll talk," he offered, letting go off her wrist.  
"Aren't you supposed to return me to the room, like the damn jailer that you are?" She asked while she rubbed her wrist.  
He sent her a cryptic smile: "I could do that... Or we can talk. Your choice, kid."  
In spite of her dark state of mind, and her even darker thoughts, he had her interest now. Devlin was a man of action, limiting himself to necessary words. She still did not like him, hell, she really hated his guts right now, but once he had been like TJ, had been TJ. So in a second of returned sanity, she decided that it could not hurt to hear him out. In any case, she could always end it all later. Or maybe he would give her the final push.


	16. Chapter 15: Guide Me Home

May 22, 2010

"You sure it's wise to bring me up here?" She asked in great disbelief when he led her out on the rooftop of their hotel. "I might run and jump."  
"You could do that. And I won't stop you," he nodded while he searched through the pockets of his black combat pants. "But you might want to reconsider it."  
Her eyes widened at his statement. What kind of game was he playing? There was no stopping her from taking the jump. She shivered.  
"It's a damn long fall. Not like you can press a button on your way down when you change your mind. Successful suicides are permanent. And this kind, well, it's very messy. Last thing to go through your head, probably your teeth if you take a header... Want some gum?" He offered, holding out the pack to her.  
"Seriously?" She asked beyond belief. "I'm about to kill myself and you offer me gum? Are you insane? Oh wait, don't answer that."  
He simply shrugged his shoulders, popped a stick of gum in his mouth and chewed for a while before saying: "Amy suggested it. Seems I have some anger issues, with idiots and morons. Somehow chewing gum keeps me from hitting all the stupid people in the world. A simple solution for a big problem."  
She frowned deeply. Was he thinking about hitting her? He would be demoted so fast his head would spin, if her father would have been around that is. Not that Devlin would really care about that.  
"Do you think I'm stupid?"  
"Nah, you're just really hurting right now."  
"Got that right," she grumbled.  
"Listen, kid, and understand. I'm not the enemy. Never was. Your father would never have put me in charge of your safety if I had been."  
"But the nanos-"  
"Make me completely insane from time to time, but it's not something I choose or can control. Just like it was never TJ's choice to make. We deal with the cards we've been given, how sh-itty they may be."  
"How?" She wondered aloud, trying to keep all the emotions that threatened to undermine her once more in check.  
"Don't know," he admitted. "We just do. As hard or impossible it may seem. We adjust and survive," he paused for a moment. "Today I lost one of my oldest friends-"  
"Yet you're not upset about it," she cut him off, anger lacing through her voice.  
He shook his head and showed her a glimpse of a sad smile: "I am. Just extremely trained to hide it, to disconnect it... I'm a Lieutenant-General, not by my wish but it is what I am. I cannot afford emotions out there on the battlefield because they may incapacitate me at one point or another," he paused again and stared off into the distance for a good minute. "I'm truly sorry about your mother," he finally said.  
It seemed so odd. He claimed to have real emotions without actually showing them. Yet his expressing his sympathy had been genuine and heartfelt. It confused her greatly and it sparked her curiosity.  
"Thank you," she whispered. "Can I... Can I ask you something?"  
He grunted lowly but not dismissively, so she took it as a yes.  
"What's your secret?"  
He shook his head: "No secret. You simply disconnect. It's the only way to deal with it."  
"So you feel nothing? Just like that?"  
He chortled: "All the officers in the Resistance, they have to make horrible decisions. And the higher up, the tougher it gets. I've sent hundreds, if not thousands to their deaths knowingly and willingly. For the good of the cause. If I had thought about it too much, had let feelings come into play, I would've done myself in years and years ago. It's a heavy burden and the only way to survive is to disconnect."  
"And become them? Doesn't that mean all is lost? The moment we stop caring, is the moment we lose," she countered upset.  
He took a deep breath and seem to ponder over his next words: "It's hard to explain, but we stopped caring because we care. How can we win a war if we feel guilt and sympathy for the people we have to send out into battle? It's a means to survive."  
Oddly enough it made sense to her. In a sick and twisted way, in order to care the leaders had to stop caring.  
"I always tried the very best out there, fighting on the front line, tried to keep the body count low, but sometimes," he sighed. "Sometimes it simply isn't enough. And people die... Good, decent people, who had no business going into battle, but went anyway because the alternative was many times worse... Your mother was one of those good people. She never stopped caring," he said with a hint of a smile. "You know, she always made sure to thank me after I hauled this or that Connor out of trouble once more... It wasn't necessary, but she always did anyway."  
It brought a faint smile to her lips: "Sounds like my mom, alright."  
"She never did it to ensure my loyalty, but because she wanted me to know that she appreciated the efforts to keep her family safe. No hidden agendas, or agendas behind agendas, just gratitude. That was... nice."  
She looked at his face closely. No clear emotion to be read, except for in his eyes, but the tone of voice he had used, it told her a different story. Silence fell between them, one that gave her room to think and cause to fidget. In a strange way, it was quite unsettling to be talking with the Devil like this. Because, for once, he seemed a normal guy and not some created freak of nature.  
"But that's not why I brought you up here," he broke the silence first. "I could say that I know and understand how you feel, but that would be a platitude, right?" He asked with a wry smile.  
She nodded in agreement.  
"War only knows loss and losers. Even the winners lose. War never ever leaves once you've been exposed to it. For some it simply fades into the background, for others every day becomes hell. Some chose to face their issues head on by picking up the pieces and trying to make the best of it. Others simply give up and kill themselves," he stated.  
"It just hurts so much," she mumbled. "Just want to pain to go away."  
"Suicide is quite the selfish act. Cowardly too... Think of those you will leave behind. Katya, Racheal, John... TJ... You're a Connor, kid. They're damn fighters, even when it seems hopeless. C wasn't just in command because of all Sarah taught him. He'd get up again and again and again. People took inspiration from his determination to keep fighting. To be a symbol like that, it's equally important to keep up the fight," he stated with conviction, tilting his head a little.  
She gave him a single nod in understanding. Things began to dawn on her. She had never fully understood the reverence and idolisation of her father, and of the man she stood looking at now. Her father was the symbol of determination, of never accepting defeat. The Devil, in contrast to his nickname, had become the symbol of hope and freedom. If that were true, she began to understand the reasoning of her father for keeping Devlin alive.  
As she pondered the newly-found insight into those characters, he shattered her thoughts as he remarked: "I'd get a suicide rampage taking out as many of those damned tin cans as possible, but a swan dive from a building? Nah, not very Connor-y, don't you agree?"  
All she could do was nod in agreement again.  
"Take up the fight, teach those metal motherf-ckers a lesson about messing with a Connor they won't soon forget," he said with a genuine smile.  
She felt the power in his words, and saw another glimpse of why people wanted to follow him into the depths of hell and back. Because if he wanted to, he certainly could rally a crowd and boost their morale. He had a point which caused her to snort; before she would have hated that fact, but given all she had heard, had learned recently, she could appreciate the effort he was making, for her.  
"But what if I can't do it?" She had to ask.  
"Just look over your shoulder," he smirked. "And see that you're not alone in this."  
On a whim she crossed the small distance between them and hugged him: "Thank you," she mumbled.  
He let out a low grunt, which she recognized as mildly surprised with a hint of annoyance, and returned the hug quite awkwardly. It brought a faint smirk to her face; she had seen him wrapped around Amy without any hint of inhibition, but a friendly hug left him stumped. Yet it also brought a deep sadness at the realization that this would be the result of the life her boyfriend would have to lead.  
With it came a mental kick in the ass by herself. She had been feeling so incredibly sorry for herself, for the very first very real loss she had suffered in a war that had been going on for decades, wallowing and nearly drowning in an ocean of self-pity. While the man who stood looking at her suspiciously had suffered so much more, from enemies and friends alike. A fate that now awaited TJ.  
It fed her determination. Despite her tremendous loss, she would pull through, because if Devlin could, then maybe she could too.  
"Can...Can you train me?..I mean dad trained me and Nana...and..mom, but what it isn't enough? What if I am not enough?"  
"Kid, you're a Connor. You're enough."

Shortly after their talk and awkward silences, Tyler escorted Destiny back inside the hotel suite. The group had reserved adjoining rooms. One for the men, the other for the women; both connected by a single door inside both rooms and a shared balcony. Destiny entered the women's room and made her way over to one of the beds, trying to avoid the eyes she felt piercing though her. She heard Cameron's voice echo behind her. "You didn't kill yourself." She stated plainly. "That's good. You're important to the war against Skynet. It would help the machines if you were gone, it would. It would be a harder battle, more years to the war."  
"Feeling the love, Cam." Destiny said sarcastically. The younger Racheal snorted. Tyler walked in some paces behind Destiny. He waited as she went to the far side of the room and stared out the window. Her eyes stared into the darkness. The unrelenting tears cascaded down her face in noiseless sobbing, mirroring the falling midnight rain. Tyler glanced at Alex and spoke up. "Kid, have I ever told you the story of how your dad tried to bust into a Skynet camp and lost his pants?" Destiny turned her head towards him and frowned before shaking her head no. Tyler chuckled. "Well, it's a good one." The teenage Racheal, stepped out of one of the suites' bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. She sat on the edge of the bed by the window and beckoned Destiny to sit beside her as Tyler started his story. Alex glanced back at Tyler, a nearly invisible smile on her lips. "Well, we had the mission to go to century to bust out some prisoners and visit our ole buddy Skynet. We get roughly close to the entrance into the camp and then we spot a monkey-wagon comin to bring in a new batch of sorry asses to hell. C and I hid behind the monkey-wagon to get ourselves smuggled inside and then.." He paused to laugh. "Then C realises that the latch on the back on the monkey-wagon has hooked itself to the latch on his cargo pants and it's dragging him along. He can't hide underneath the wagon as we're pulled inside the gate, and he doesn't want to be a part of the group on the wagon since he'll be recognised so he does the only thing he can do and takes his pants off." Tyler starts laughing before continuing his story. "C and I hide under the wagon as people start filing out and of course our rookies arrive and blow the metal motherf-ckers to hell and back but the look on everyone's face when they meet the legendary John Connor in his undies." Tyler looked up to a newly formed audience. Everyone had gathered into the women's suite to hear what he had had to say. Sarah and Alex were standing aloof by their makeshift table for supplies. Destiny and Racheal were both sitting/laying on the bed and John and Derek had taken to leaning against the door frame just between the separate rooms. The only one not bothering to pay attention was Cameron who paced the balcony, most likely trying to do a perimeter search to keep an eye on everyone's safety. Racheal tried to suppress a smile, Alex let hers show, Sarah tried to ignore the story for the most part and Derek laughed while John fumed. Tyler looked over to John and smirked. "Well, it was a half assed attempt on your part. Too bad you're not brave enough to go full commando like some us. Bare assed is better than half assed." John rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny." He said. "I'd like to think so, kid."

Racheal chewed her lip."Sounds like something goofy my dad would have done. "John looked over at her. Racheal had talked about her mom all the time. When he first knew her at school and after she had come to live with them. Especially after the T-1000 was responsible for her mother's death, she had spent many nights climbing into his bed to stay the night. Not once since he had known her did she ever mention her father. She acted rather like him in the matter and closed the subject down whenever it was brought up. Mothers were mentioned, fathers were locked up in a box at the far corner of the memory, dangerous subjects. Yet here she was, willingly bringing the mystery man into the conversation. All John knew of him was that he had been in the military and he had passed away when Racheal was small. John glanced at Destiny and saw she too was intrigued at his mention.  
John cleared his throat and looked at Racheal. "In what way?" He asked.  
Racheal swished her mouth from side to side and thought. "My dad was called "Joker" because he was so clumsy sometimes that he messed things up but it always worked out in the end, usually to his own embarrassment. "  
John smirked. "Did he have a tattoo of the batman joker on his right arm?"  
"Mom told me it was on his left. But he died when I was three so I never saw it."  
"Staff sergeant William Matthew Sanders had an animated tattoo of the joker on his left hand. He received it during his time in the military just before he died in 1997." Cameron droned out.  
Racheal rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Cam."  
Destiny pursed her lips and pondered as she had been doing since she returned to the suite. Suddenly it had dawned on her that her brother who had not survived was named for her mother's father who had not survived either. Naturally, her parents would not have had the ability to name her dead brother after her father's father for fear of the family secret getting out. She sighed before Racheal continued her story. "So mom went into a state of depression, sold the house, moved across country and tried to start over. She couldn't stand to look at me, said I reminded her of him so she dumped me off with her mother for ten years and decided to do more abroad time with her modelling career. Grandma Katerina died when I was thirteen and mom had to come back early from her trip in Japan. She retired from her career and took me back again." The room had gone so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. "I shouldn't have said anything." Racheal announced nervously when she all the eyes on her.

February, 16, 2025

Racheal smiled from ear to ear as she marched down the hallway to central command. A rare occasion in the times they were living in, but she had a reason to smile. Finally there was something she could do in return for the man who had helped her family so many times already, who had been a crucial part in the Great Escape a few days ago.  
It was just so damn cute to see the tough warrior reduced to a bumbling guy. If only she could get John on her side on this. Tyler deserved some happiness, after all he had done and would do. Surely John wouldn't deny his best friend this sliver of happiness, this tiny bit of light in the ever darkness of present day.  
"Do you think it would be possible to transfer Adams to IT?" She asked when she caught her husband staring at a computer screen.  
He turned to look at her, a deep frown creasing his brow: "Why? Ty is more than capable to lead that division."  
She smirked: "He's taken a liking to her."  
He sighed and shook his head: "So you play matchmaker?"  
"Why not? Love is hard to come by nowadays, and I think they would make a great couple."  
"Maybe. In another world. But now? It would only lead to complications."  
Now it was her turn to frown: "Complications?"  
"Ty's already stubborn and disobedient enough. No need to add to it, by tossing a woman he might desire into the mix."  
"Meaning?" She asked, not liking where this conversation was heading.  
"Meaning that if I transfer Amy to IT, Ty might be even less inclined to follow orders and go on certain missions."  
"So you withhold this from him? You might be wrong about this. With Adams, he could become more agreeable, more malleable."  
Her husband shook his head: "I can't risk it. They're both too important to the Resistance-"  
"So you're just gonna deny them this chance?" She interrupted incredulously.  
He stroked his chin and stared off in the distance for a long moment: "Listen and understand, Rache. If I allow this, we stand to lose not one but two extremely skilled fighters. The stubborn bastard will refuse missions that might get him killed because he has someone waiting for him. Love will weaken them, us considerably. We need him out there, risking life and limb, to free those prisoners from Skynet death camps. She might make him hesitant in the field and that could get him killed. We won't lose the war if he dies, but it will set us back."  
"And her? You only focus on him... Is there something I need to know, John?"  
Confusion was written all over her husband's face. The usual tells absent, so he had no idea what she meant.  
"You were locked up, with her at Century. Did something happen?" She swallowed hard to fight her emotions back.  
He frowned again, confused and shocked: "No... Why?"  
"Your sole focus seems to be to keep him in the game. All your points are about how important he is... She helped you bring structure to the Resistance, drafted training programs for Rooks, found Bedell and so forth. Yet he's the one you keep mentioning. It sounds like avoidance to me."  
"Wait... Are you accusing me of cheating?" He asked darkly. "Because... No!"  
She jumped a little at the force of his voice: "Then what are you keeping from me, John? Because there's something you're not telling me."  
"It's... complicated," he answered with a deep sigh.  
"You know you can talk to me, John... Whatever it is, we can figure it out."  
He shook his head and stared off in the distance with his head slightly tilted, a brooding look on his face, looking eerily like her mother-in-law. Sarah Connor, supposedly dead but very much alive at IntelliTech Base.  
"Is that it? Your mother? You'd rather have him suffer over something that could never be than actually grant him the tiniest piece of happiness?"  
He looked at her again and kept quiet for a good while: "Like I said... It's complicated... Promise me that you won't try to set them up behind my back. As tempting as it might be, I need them apart for them to remain top efficient."  
She didn't like it; in this deadly and dark world, the tiniest scrap of happiness could represent a lifetime of hope. Yet her husband seemed convinced, for reasons unknown to her, that the best course of action would be to keep Devlin and Adams apart. She could argue their case until she saw blue in the face, but her husband had been right on so many occasions, so if he deemed it best that those two remained as far away from each other as possible, it most likely was.  
"Fine. You really are an a-hole sometimes, you know that right?"  
"Racheal, I love you but.."  
"I love you too but you're still an a-hole."  
"Are you still mad about earlier?"  
Racheal feigned innocence. "Mad? No, honey, I'm not mad that we were spending time together and you abruptly left me to answer a conference call from IT."  
"It was an important call."  
"I'm sure it was."  
"I was already finished."  
"Well, I wasn't!" She shrieked.  
He was very quiet for several seconds. "If I made it up to you.."  
"I'm not in the mood."  
"There's a table.." He suggested.  
Racheal frowned. "Tables are for mistresses and whores. Not that I'm suggesting you find one, though god knows you'd have an easy time finding a girl on short notice."  
John glared at her but said nothing.  
"I have never been unfaithful to you, not even in my thoughts. I have never lied to you . I have never hated you and I have never shut you out. So don't shut me out. I still love you for you, regardless of your name or where you came from or what you do. Talk to me."

May 22, 2010

Alex stared off in the distance for a few seconds before she spoke up. "I suppose if you are to tell funny stories about my son, I should return the favor and tell a funny one about you."  
A deep frown creased Tyler's brow. If one knew his tells, one would see that worry seemed to flit across his face for the briefest of moments. Because he couldn't think of anything remotely funny that happened to him that Alex could know of but he said nothing. All eyes were upon her.  
She looked in Tyler's direction pointedly, smirked and began her story.  
"Just look at the guy," she told them. "Looks like some biker thug, right? Now imagine him dressed in a dirty, patched black suit. Got the image? Good, now add a small bouquet of dandelions and daisies to it."  
Tyler snarled when snickers from the listeners arose in the room.  
"He had even shaved for the occasion. Which occasion you ask? Well, it was shortly after the Big Escape and obviously someone had caught his attention. So he went through quite a bit to try and get the woman's attention, which is funny on its own, because Devlin is a lot of things but no Prince Charming. Still he made an effort. So dressed to the nines, bouquet of wildflowers in hand, he marched down the tunnels looking for a certain lady, of whom whispers in the tunnels had told him that she was currently on base. Only to find John waiting for him outside her quarters to inform him that the woman had been sent out into the field again and wouldn't come back any time soon."  
The corners of Tyler's mouth had curled up in a growl, baring his teeth, as the crowd burst into laughter at his expense. Again. Except for Cameron and Sarah. The story took him back to the tunnels of Home Plate, where soldiers and civilians alike had snickered behind his back, and John had simply smiled amused in his face. He had wanted to punch the guy straight through the wall.  
Clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides, he was barely able to keep his cool, but managed all the same. He regretted nothing and yet it was still a bad memory. Made a fool, because he had thought the woman in question might be worth every bit of effort.  
"That's cruel," Sarah stated tersely while she looked in her son's direction, who simply shrugged in answer.  
"John Connor ran a number of scenarios before drawing his conclusions," Cameron droned. "In most cases a romantic involvement between Major General Adams-"  
"It was Adams?!" John interrupted flabbergasted. "As in Amy?!"  
"Yes," Cameron continued undisturbed: "And Lieutenant General Devlin would influence the Lieutenant General's willingness to partake in high risk missions most negatively. The outcome of results for Major General Adams would have been the same."  
"In other words, my son didn't think it wise for those two to hook up, that any kind of relationship they might have could prove disastrous to the Resistance," Alex concluded.  
"Doesn't make it any less cruel," Sarah grumbled.  
Alex shrugged: "A bit yes, mostly on John's part, but it did make for an amusing afternoon, didn't it, Destiny?" She asked looking over to her granddaughter who had given in to exhaustion and fallen asleep onto the duvet.

The quiet, calm night was interrupted when a shrill cry broke the silence. With a flick of a lamp, a corner of the room lit up with a warm light to illuminate the problem. Destiny thrashed in her bed with such force that she knocked the teenage Racheal from the bed onto the floor with a hard thud, hitting her nose against the end table. Destiny shook like she was being electrocuted; her cries were of pain and despair, like a mortally wounded person crying out that they were not yet ready to die. Sarah and Alex both jumped out of bed, simultaneously grabbing their handguns from under their pillows, ready to attack anyone they saw as a threat. Alex quickly put her gun down and ran over to the third bed where Destiny was having a fit. Tyler had burst into the room with Derek and John following close behind. He quickly assessed the situation and shooed the boys away. Alex uncovered the still sleeping girl and attempted to soothe her by rubbing her back. Out of primal instinct, Destiny recognized the feeling of touch and reacted as if she was under attack. Her cries became screams and the thrashing increased. Alex tried again to wake the girl only to have Destiny rake her fingernails across her face, leaving behind small cuts. Alex winced and dropped Destiny back against the mattress in shock. Tyler marched over to Alex's side and lifted Destiny in both arms, tight enough to restrain her fighting before dropping her back on the mattress repeatedly until the screams stopped and she opened her eyes. Exhausted and embarrassed by her episode, Destiny said nothing and rolled over to her side, taking great effort to conceal her sobs as Alex rubbed her back. Derek turned on his heels and went back to the men's suite, most likely back to bed. Tyler filled a glass with water and encouraged Destiny to take small sips to soothe her raw throat. John got a wet washcloth from the suite's bathroom, holding it to Racheal's face to get the bleeding from her nose to stop. He glared at Destiny. "Can't you just shut up already? Did you really have to wake up everyone?"  
Destiny choked on her sobs, too shocked at his words to release her tears.  
"John." Sarah said, anger seeping into her voice.  
He looked back at Destiny. "Your mom died, I get it. You've lost someone. This is war, not a vacation. People die, bad people, good people, innocent and guilty alike. You act like you're supposed to be above pain and loss. You're not. You're-"

Whatever John was going to say was cut short when Destiny's fist met his face. Her strike landed him square on his back. Without a moment's hesitation, she stood over him and hit him again and again, letting her sadness melt and transform into anger and her anger gave her strength. After his initial shock wore off, he began to fight back and trade blows with her. She could feel a faint roar of noise in her ears, she paid it no mind focused all of her attention on John. It felt like hours before she felt two strong hands pull her off of him. "Enough." Alex said. Tyler appeared and picked her up, holding her under the shoulder with his left arm and supporting her knees with the right. He carried her out of the room as Alex and Sarah attended to John.

John wiped the blood from his mouth. "What is the hell is her problem?"  
"I believe that her problem is you, or more or less what you said." Sarah supplied.  
"I simply said the truth, she acts like she was never going to lose someone." John argued.  
Alex shook her head. "John, she acts like that because that is what her father told her. He told her every day that she was safe and nothing bad would happen. He meant it as a comfort to ease her worry and it worked. She believed she was above the pain and loss that others felt. This was the first time she has ever lost someone besides Kyle."

John frowned. "She knew him?"  
"Yes, he was a close friend to her since she was small and it hurt her alot when he was gone. Racheal's death hurt her alot more obviously and there's the matter of TJ. "

"Why would future me tell everyone is safe and everything is fine when it's a lie?  
"He wanted to protect her mind and her innocence. He wanted to hide the war from her and shield her from its horrors...He didn't want her to be afraid all the time, wondering when it was her time to die. He was told...you were told that "No one-"

"—Is ever safe." John said, finishing her sentence.  
"You've always been looking over your shoulder, expecting the day when your luck runs out. My John didn't want that for her. He wanted her to believe that everything would be alright, even when he knew it wouldn't be."

"But it's a lie.  
"Santa Claus and the toothfairies are lies. Lies that we knowingly tell to get children to believe that the world is full of magic and not all nightmares."  
John said nothing more as he looked from Destiny and Tyler to Racheal before leaving the suite and walking down the hall. Racheal waited a moment and followed him out. Sarah looked at Cameron and nodded in John's direction. Cameron and Racheal followed him out to the poolyard. Cameron hung back at surveyed the landscape for possible threats.  
"John?" Racheal asked tentatively.  
"Hey." He smiled tiredly.  
"What's the matter?"  
"Just..frustrated with everything." He sighed deeply. "Racheal's dead, Amy and TJ are missing..maybe dead. We have to move again because we've been caught. I'm tired of being caught. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of people dying." He pointed back towards the hotel. "She keeps acting like a brat."  
"Her mother just died. Her boyfriend might be dead too."  
"She shouldn't be dating him."  
"But she is, John. "  
"If I had it my way.."  
"But you don't."  
"I don't want her with him."  
"That is not your choice, John"  
"I don't like him."  
"Do you honestly think your mother likes me? ...I promise you she doesn't."  
"It's not the same thing."  
"Yeah, yeah it is. She loves him."  
"I don't like it."  
A roaring laugh came from behind and the turned to see Tyler with a wicked smirk on his face.  
"What do you want?"  
Tyler simply shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure the kid didn't beat you to a pulp."  
John frowned. "She didn't. I fought back."  
"Not well. She bloodied your lip and got quite a few licks in."  
"I blacked her eye."  
"You got one hit kid, she got dozens. Girl is a better fighter than you. You're jealous."  
"I am not."  
"You are. Jealous of her skill, without a doubt, and jealous of her relationship."  
"What?"  
"You are jealous of her and TJ. "  
"You're insane."  
"Obviously but you are jealous. Question is if you're jealous of her taking away your friend or if you're jealous of your friend for taking away your girl."  
John blanched.  
"So what is it, kid? Jealous of the girl or the boy?"  
"I'm not jealous."  
"Yes, you are. You weren't this gruff with the kid before she dated TJ. You were friendly with TJ until he took the girl you wanted. You let the grudge go when you got her for yourself then you went back to the hostile attitude when you found out he's been taking your kid for a ride. You are jealous."  
"So what if I am?"  
Tyler shrugged."I want to know what your problem is. I want your head in the game boy. All of this damn jealously feeds the drama that are you surrounded by. We are divided and a divided Resistance serves Skynet."  
"What do you know about it?"  
"When I was TJ in another timeline, something similar happened. Future you and I both fell for Adams. "  
"What?"  
"You proposed to her and she rejected you. She chose me instead and you were mighty sore over it. Didn't talk to me for weeks. Our spat gave Skynet power. We split apart, Skynet took full advantage of the situation and a lot of people got killed. Are you going to risk that much this time because the girl has your friend or because the friend is screwing the girl and you ain't?  
"That's disgusting!"  
"Yeah but I've heard of things far worse that happened in the future. So?"  
"Fine. I'm jealous that Destiny is with TJ and I've lost a friend because he'd rather be screwing a little girl instead."  
"Most days, you'd rather be screwing a little girl than training or being around him either. He makes an effort to do things besides sleep around. Amy does more than just warm my bed. You on the other hand spend all your time riding Racheal into the ground, and if she's busy then you get busy with her older self."  
John fumed and turned to see Racheal's reaction when he realized she was no longer there.  
"She walked away a while ago, boy. It's helps to pay attention to women, not just f-ck 'em"  
John stormed away to find Racheal.

He ran across the poolyard and stopped when he found her. Racheal was sitting at the edge of the pool , kicking her toes in the water. John watched her for a moment and then walked over.  
"Rach?"  
She turned and looked at him with her eyes blazing.  
"Oh..you're mad."  
"Yes, I'm mad."  
"I don't understand."  
"You never do. You never pay attention"  
"Is this about what Tyler said?"  
"It's about what you didn't say, John."  
John remained quiet.  
"Tyler called me a bed warmer and you said nothing... Is that what I am to you? Nothing but a f-ck buddy?"  
"No, you're supposed to by my wife."  
"Yeah, see that's the other problem, John. You think I'm supposed to marry you because that's what happened last time. That's not what has to happen. The future is always changing. The set path doesn't have to be the only path."  
"I want you to-."  
"You didn't ask me and I haven't said yes."  
"Racheal, will you-?"  
"No."  
"But... Rache."  
"I said no. After how I've seen you treat Destiny and TJ, I don't think you're the kind of person that I want to be with. You bullied her for being upset that she has no mother when you know yourself you be upset if yours was gone. Not to mention you don't seem to be upset that Racheal is gone either. With TJ, you stole me right out from under him, which is a low thing to do regardless of who you are. He's your friend and you took his girlfriend, then you go and ruin the afternoon he had planned with his girlfriend. You would be pissed off if he had done that to you. If you want to be with me then you need to change how you treat people."

"I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry, then fix this."Racheal huffed and walked back to the hotel room, leaving John standing there confused and upset.

Footsteps walked on the grass. Bodies of police officers were being loaded into many ambulances. Broken bones, concussions yet no deaths. A man surveyed the area and looked back at the house. He wandered through the house, the air conditioning blowing through his brown hair. There were many detectives photographing each room, documenting the contents on a notepad. The Connors lived here. A group of domestic terrorists hell bent on destruction. There were whispering roaming the rooms. Why were they not found earlier? Where did they plan to attack next? How did they manage to escape? Heads shook on shoulders, sighs were uttered. The man watched uninterested.  
"Hey!" A voice cried out. The man turned to see a man dressed in uniform."You can't be here." The uniformed man exclaimed and proceeded to escort the man from the home.

When they reached the bushes on the edge of the property, away from the crowds, the uniformed man unhanded the trespasser. The man turned around and looked at the officer as he was unhanded. "Thank you for your assistance." He said and drove his right arm through the man's abdomen . As the officer dropped to the ground, the man removed his arm and shook off the blood. He stared at his victim's body as his own turned to silver and then morphed into the likeness of the officer.

John paced around the poolyard as Cameron watched him. He tugged at his hair and pondered what to do about the situation. He hated to admit it but Racheal was right, about everything. He had taken her away from TJ rather than let the future unfold naturally. She would have left TJ and gone to him in her own time. He had destroyed a relationship out of spite. Though if he was completely honest with himself, he would have admitted that he feared Racheal would have remained with TJ and shunned him instead. With Destiny, Racheal made a fair point. Destiny had lost her mother. Racheal and TJ both had and Racheal had spent enough time in John's company for him to know how deeply Adalyn's death had hurt her, how it hurt her still. He could not expect Destiny to recover from that in mere hours and unlike Racheal, Destiny had never been without her mother until she came to this time. He sighed deeply. This would take some doing to right the wrongs. He ran his hand through his hair again and walked back to the hotel suite with Cameron following him. He walked into the women's suite and looked around. Sarah and Alex had gone to bed. Racheal and Destiny had returned to their bed as well. Destiny appeared to be asleep but John could tell that Racheal was still awake and very aware that he was in the room with them. Cameron returned to her post by the window to due surveillance. John walked over to the bed where Destiny and Racheal were laying. He took his shoes off and looked at Racheal. She glanced down at Destiny and wrapped her arms around her. Slowly and gently, she pulled Destiny closer to herself so that she was in the middle of the bed rather than the right side of it. John climbed on top of the covers where Destiny had been laying. He curled up to her and wrapped his right arm around her waist. He looked at Racheal. She curled up to Destiny's left side and wrapped her left arm across Destiny's back, on top of John's arm. He smiled at her faintly and closed his eyes.


	17. Chapter 16: Bring Me To Life

Chapter: 16 Bring Me To Life

As the sun was streaming into the hotel suite, Destiny woke to find herself in the middle of an awkward position. She had rolled over to from her stomach to her back and found herself between John and Racheal. Both had an arm wrapped around her, yet their hands were holding each other. She sat up puzzled. Having John and Racheal sleep like that with her in the middle was completely normal when she and her sister were quite young. John and Racheal on the outside edges, Katya in between them and Destiny usually slept on John's chest until she was too old. They all shared a single bed until Katya and Destiny were nearly teens. They were safer that way, her father had always said. They were somewhere he could keep an eye on them. Guards outside the door at all times... Safe. As comforting as it was to sleep in between them again, it was odd. She was grown now and this John and Racheal were not yet her parents. Racheal had taken to her more since the death of future self... Her death. Destiny could hear once again the cry of her mother's death and she felt her eyes fill up with tears.

Destiny quickly and carefully climbed out of bed as she felt the tear drip down her face. She didn't have to look to see who had placed a hand on her shoulder, to know it was Alex. She let herself be pulled into the hug, relishing the fact that she still had some family. Sarah entered the suite with Cameron on her heels. Sarah took a look at her future self and granddaughter before looking back at John and Racheal sleeping in the bed. She noticed their close proximity and held hands. Destiny could have sworn she had heard her growl. The sound of voices and yelling shook her from her pity party, she let go of her grandmother and followed the sound to the men's suite where Tyler was watching the news on last night's failed attempt at arresting them.

"Is there anything about them finding mom or TJ or Amy?"

Tyler shook his head. "Nothing, kid. No arrests made or bodies found."

Destiny sighed. "Can't we look for them?"

"Absolutely not." Sarah called from behind.

"It's tactically dangerous." Cameron chimed in.

"It's always dangerous. I don't care, my mom is dead, and I want to find out where TJ is."

"The answer is no." Sarah argued.

"The answer is always no. No, you can't go out. No, you can't talk to that person. Don't walk, talk or breathe, I know the rules." Destiny mumbled.

"And yet you break them." Alex snapped.

"They're unfair, Nana. You know that."

"They are there to protect you."

"I don't want to be protected. I want to fight back.." She looked at Tyler. "Your girlfriend is out there, your younger self is out there. My mother is gone but they might not be. We should look."

He sighed. "Kid..."

"I know it's dangerous, Tyler but everything we do is dangerous. She'd look for you, you know she would. You love her, I know you do. You can't just do nothing. I can't just sit here."

"You're right." Tyler said as he stood up.

"I'm what?" Destiny asked puzzled.

"Not repeating it, kid. I'll go out and look for them."

"No, I want to go."

"Kid..."

"Come on. I can't just stay here and pace the floor. I need to go. TJ is out there."

Tyler looked at her for a while. "Two conditions."

"Fine."

"When I give you an order, you follow it without question and when we run into trouble, you do exactly as I say."

"Done." She responded and put on her shoes.

"Devlin." Alex snapped.

"Connor. C ordered me to not let her out of my sight. Can't exactly disobey a direct order can I?"

"You do it all the time."She countered.

He simply shrugged and got to his feet. "Ready, kid?"

"Ready." She said and followed him out the door.

Alex looked at Sarah and shook her head in their direction.

Racheal was lying on Charley's table while he attempted to patch the wound in her abdomen. The wound was thorough and wide. Racheals' skin was paler than usual, most likely from the blood loss. Her eyes were glazed over and unable to focus and she kept muttering "John.."John..John." Over and over again like a prayer. Perhaps she thought calling his name would soothe her or perhaps she was hallucinating and thought he was really there. Amy couldn't blame her much for either case. Blood loss did wonders on the mind and deep down if she had been in the same position; it would have been Tyler's company she would have called for above anything. "It's going to be ok, Racheal." Amy promised but Racheal did not hear her. She was miles away inside her own mind.

March 21, 2014

Dressed in nothing but her skin, Racheal sat on her bed and squatted, trying to force her unborn daughter into the world. Groaning with effort, she lay back down on her side and panted."Giving up so soon, RC?" Tyler teased. Racheal glared at him. "Feel..free..to.. trade places." She spat out in between her contractions.

"Don't think men were meant for that."

Racheal balled her fists. "I told you to go get John ...out of that damn camp ...a day and a half ago when this fucking mess started!

He shrugged. "The team is not in position yet. The timing is not yet right. You have to wait for him, but your time has already come. This must happen first."

"I can't do it without him."

"Yes you can, trust me." He said gently. "Do what you did when Kat was born."

She gritted her teeth and pulled Tyler closer so that he was standing and the foot of the bed, she gripped his shoulders and squatted again, pushing with the contraction when it hit her. "Breathe...Push. Take a breath and push again." Tyler spoke in her ear.

After the tenth push, Racheal groaned. "Nothing is happening,.. She should be ...crowning by now. She isn't.. moving down ..at all. She's stuck."

Tyler pulled Racheal off of him and leaned her back against the mattress. He positioned her legs on the side of his arms and without a moment's hesitation; he forced his hand inside her. Racheal groaned in pain as he began to feel around for the child.

"Oh she's stuck alright. She's coming feet first but her legs are caught up against you. There's not enough room for her to come this way." He quickly removed his hand, back away from the bed and opened the door to the tunnels. "Connor, need some help!" He yelled in the hallway. A moment later, Sarah walked into the room, carrying a one year old Katya who was currently trying to eat her grandmother's hair.

She assessed the situation, closed the door and put Katya down to play on the ground as she made her way over to Tyler and Racheal. Tyler pulled a knife from his pocket and rolled the blade around in the fire of a nearby lantern. "Tyler? Tyler ,no don't do it. Please don't do it." Racheal begged as Sarah held her arms, keeping Racheal's body still against the mattress.

"I have to, Racheal. We both know what'll happen if I don't. She can't come down on her own, you said it yourself, she's stuck. Her heart rate will slow as the contractions keep going until she goes into distress and dies. You've already birthed one dead baby, are you ready to do it again?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and cried noiselessly. Tyler grabbed one of John's spare shirts lying about and stuffed it into her mouth. "Bite down on it." He instructed as he pulled her knees under his armpits and started to cut her open. He cut straight down and then left and right to make a makeshift full sided episiotomy as Racheal screamed through the gag. He sat his knife down beside him and plunged his hands inside of her to guide the child. "Push hard, Racheal." He instructed as he untangled the infant's legs and gently pulled her from her mother. "It's a girl, Mrs. C." He announced as he yanked the gag out of her mouth and used it to wrap the newborn. He cut her cord with his knife and handed the baby to her grandmother as she started to cry.

Racheal blinked hard and woke to find John standing nearby, rocking his new daughter, smirking as she eagerly sucked on his fingers."What happened?" Racheal croaked, suddenly feeling very weak and dehydrated. John looked up from the newborn and walked closer to his wife. "You were amazing. Tyler and mom told me everything." He stroked the newborn's thick, black curls, and kissed his wife while placing the newborn on Racheal's chest to nurse beside her older sister. "You will need to stay in bed and rest, you've lost a lot of blood... It's past midnight." He said and placed a stalk of lavender beside her before kissing her again. "Happy Anniversary, Rache and thank you for the beautiful gift."

May 23, 2010

Racheal opened her eyes and looked around, confused as to where she was. "John?" She asked in a whisper.

"Not here." Amy answered. "You've lost a bit of blood and you need some time to recover." Racheal focused on Amy's face to steady the dizziness roaring through her. She noticed TJ handing supplies to Charley, speaking in a hushed tone she could not understand.Amy looked back and Charley and said. "We'll have to move her soon. The T-1000 will find us eventually, we don't need to be any more trouble to you and we need move on." 

Tyler stalked out of the hotel with Destiny hot on his heels. He handed her one of the guns he had brought with them as he climbed into the jeep sitting in the parking lot. Destiny climbed into the jeep and looked at him. "Where do we start?"

"Last place we saw them, follow their tracks from there."

"What if we don't find them?"

"They will find us or they're dead."

Destiny was quiet for a few miles. "Tyler?..What will happen if TJ is dead?"

"What do you mean, kid?"

"If he's dead then he won't become you.. Will you disappear too?"

"Are you worried about me, silverspoon?" He joked.

"Ha."

They arrived back in the wooded area where the chase started and they exited the jeep. Tyler fished a flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on. He pointed it on the ground. "This is where I fell." He moved the flashlight to the west. "And where your mother fell." He said quietly. Destiny could see the blood on the ground but could not see her mother's body. "Where is she? What did that metal bastard do with my mom?!" She cried.

Tyler moved his flashlight over and closely examined the ground for footprints. "She fell here then someone came up to her. Only one pair of prints walking away. Too small to be a man. Chances are that the T1000 came up to her to finish her off, took her shape and walked away from here. "He glanced at Destiny. "It may have disposed of her body to make you think she was still alive. You'd be vulnerable against it if it wore your mother's face. You do realise it will be hunting you, using her face as bait."

"I know that. Dad warned me about them doing that at home." Destiny said quietly.

Tyler nodded and followed the T1000's footsteps across the ground, tracking down the monster with Destiny following close behind.

Tyler and Destiny followed the trail of footprints out of the woods to one of the main roads. "Looks like it was most likely picked by a passenger vehicle; probably killed the driver a few miles from here."

"But where would it go once it got a car?"

"To look for you, kid. It would pick up the trail however it could and find you."

"But what about Amy and TJ?"

"I told you, kid. Amy is resourceful; she didn't become fourth in command for her smile. If she's alive, she'll find us. TJ should be with her if he made it. If he isn't with her then he's lost for now. We'll go back and get the jeep, look till nightfall then we will head back."

"What if the terminator finds its way to the hotel?"

"The tin can is out looking for you, you are not at the hotel, and you're with me. Sarah and Alex can keep John safe. It's my job to keep you safe."

John paced the floor, running his hands through his hair. "I cannot believe he just up and went out there. He could lead the terminator here. I can't believe he took Destiny with him. He's supposed to protect her, not take her out while we're trying to hide."

Cameron looked up. "The Lieutenant General knows what he's doing. He's your third in command and one of your best soldiers. He did not achieve his rank lightly. He chose to take Destiny with him because he feels she's ready to step up in the fight against Skynet. He's going to teach her how to fight back."

The younger Racheal looked up at Cameron. "Is she ready?"

The machine met her gaze. "Yes."

"What about us?" Racheal inquired.

"Not yet sufficient enough to take on Skynet. John is behind schedule because he is hiding from his destiny. Due to future Racheal's time with you, training you, you are ahead of schedule but not yet ready to go out on missions."

"Destiny gets to go out all the time, with Tyler, with TJ."

Destiny has been trained since birth by many, many people. She also goes out with people who are qualified to protect her should an emergency arise."

A deep knock on the door and it was kicked open. Standing there at the doorway was Tyler and Destiny. Tyler brushed past the group standing with their guns drawn and looked around at each face.

Racheal had been extremely surprised when Tyler had barged back into the room. Wasn't he supposed to be en route to track down the missing members of their merry band of rebels? Destiny was hot on his heels and looked beyond excited.  
He stopped short of her, towered over her as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at her.  
"You and Destiny, with me," he barked in a manner that left no room for argument or protest.  
"Not you," he growled darkly when John moved to get up and come along as well, sending the boy stumbling back onto the sofa with a startle.  
If she was honest, she was rather afraid of the gruff man at the moment. Like he'd barrel right through her if she were to get in his way.  
"Mom?" John included his mother.  
She watched silently while Tyler instantly moved over to Sarah and said something to her in a very hushed voice. Only one name stood out: hers. The rest was too soft to hear. Sarah nodded.  
"Sorry, John," Sarah said apologetically with a shrug of her shoulders.  
"But, mom?" John tried again.  
Now Tyler stormed up to John, bringing his face an inch away from the boy's, and bared his teeth in an angry growl: "If you'd be of any use, I'd've picked you to begin with. So stop whining!"  
Then he turned towards Destiny, nodded and motioned to move out: "Let's go."  
Maybe she should feel a little guilty about it, but she couldn't help but gloat a tiny bit.

Destiny and Tyler walked quickly towards the jeep with Tyler pulling Racheal along with him. He shoved her in the back and got into the driver's seat. Tyler peeled out of the driveway and took off in sight of Charley's house.

Impatiently Amy paced back and forth on the front porch. What the hell was taking him so long? She glanced at her watch again and frowned. Less time than she had thought had passed by. She crossed her arms and looked up and down the street again.

There wasn't much she had been able to do. She ran her hands through her hair and swallowed hard again. It had been a stroke of luck to find them on the side of the road. She could only hope Charley could do his best with Racheal's condition. The wound was so deep, she wondered if they got her there in time. She turned towards the door of the house when she heard Racheal cry out in pain. It brought back terrible memories of Judgement day and her luxurious stay in a Skynet work camp. Things she'd rather forget.

Tyler drove like a bat out of hell and pulled the jeep into Charley's driveway, shoving the kids out of the vehicle as soon as it was parked. Once again, He grabbed Racheal's arm and pulled her towards the door.

Destiny looked back at Racheal who felt like a sheep being led to the slaughter. If Tyler had loosened his grip a bit, she would have fled into the night.

He tossed her inside and followed close behind them. Racheal felt him push her forward but her legs refused. She was in too much shock seeing her future self lying open on a table, bleeding heavily. "I need more stitching." Charley demanded and TJ quickly handed him a roll of thread while Amy tried her best to minimize the bleeding. "Where's that blood?!" Charley yelled.

"Right here." Tyler called and yanked Racheal over to the table. She whimpered. So this was why he wanted her and why John was of no use. He would only hinder the process. Tyler grabbed a chair and sat Racheal down in it beside her older self as Charley finished the sutures and started to set up the cord for the blood draw. Racheal nervously looked behind her to see Tyler standing there with his arms folded as if standing guard to keep her there. Destiny had moved over close to her mother and was bent over listening to what the older Racheal was trying to whisper in her ear.

Racheal whimpered when the blood started to flow out of her, she tried not to show pain or weakness, not when her much older self was covered in blood and refusing pain medicine to avoid the sluggish side effects. She concentrated on keeping steady, even breaths. She could hear Charley, Amy and Tyler talking in hushed voices about Racheal's condition and moving her out. TJ had taken Destiny to another room and were talking and hugging, most likely Destiny's excitement over his survival."Hey." A voice called and Racheal looked up to see her other self looking at her very intently.

"Hi." She said back meekly.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. Are you?"

Her older self smiled. "Childbirth was much more painful, I can deal with the pain. Recovery is a bit long though."

"Thought you could use a drink about now," Tyler's voice pierced her darkening thoughts while a bottle of beer appeared in front of her face.

Amy took it from him, brought it down and absently fidgeted with it. It was way too early to be drinking alcohol, but he would most likely come up with a corny excuse. Besides he was right; she was in need of something to take the edge off.

"Thanks, Ty."

Silently he sat down next to her at the top of the steps leading to the back porch. From the corner of her eye she caught him looking up at the sky.

"One helluva twenty-four hours," he offered wearily.

"Yeah," she agreed before she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Hell of a time... Think she'll pull through?"

He took a deep breath before answering: "Hope so."

"Pretty smart thinking bringing the girl," she admitted, reveling in his closeness. "Exactly the same blood."

On an ever-shifting battlefield, he was safe for her. He had his flaws, but he was home to her. She felt him shrug.

"Worked for me and the kid, so why not in this case?"

She lifted her head off his shoulder and nodded in agreement before taking a sip of her beer and grimacing. The taste of it didn't agree with the hour of the day, but she wasn't in the mood for coffee or juice either. She placed the bottle next to her on the floor and leaned forward, staring at some plants at the back of the yard while she worked up her courage.

"Did you worry?" She asked after a silence that was both comfortable and awkward.

"Always worry... Always trying to think a few steps ahead," he answered in a soft voice, clearly avoiding her fishing.

"About me, I mean," she clarified.

"Mhm."

If it had been any other man, even Sam, the reaction would have been a huge disappointment, but this was Tyler. In his case, this was to be considered a genuine admission of caring.

She took his left hand into her right and laced their fingers together before resting her head on his shoulder again. A careless act and yet so very telling. Only by reminding herself, she realized that she was holding his cyborg-hand, accepting him as he was. Human, just like her. Nothing less. Not a machine or tin can wannabe. Human.

"I love you," she said before she could even try and stop herself. Not that she wanted to.

Those three words, unspoken until just now, holding so much meaning, did startle her. It was a reckless statement, but the moment had felt right. Maybe there would have a been a better moment to come but if she had learned anything it was that it was best to live in the moment and not postpone the important things. So here it was: her declaration of love for him. And all be damned who would judge her for it.

Heat crept up her neck and face, her heartbeat skyrocketing. Fed by expectation and fear. Would he return the words? The feelings, the realization that this had become so much more than just blowing off steam?

The subtle ripple of his shoulder muscles underneath the side of her head, the warm caress of his breath through her hair and on her scalp, told her that he had turned his head a little to face her. Worry and anticipation struggled for supremacy. The flock of nervous butterflies in her stomach fluttered uncontrollably. Make or break. Could he even say the words if he were to feel the same?

"I love you too, Ames," he said without stalling, without any hint of hesitation. Plain and clear.

Her heart nearly exploded in her chest; to love and to be really loved again was a gift she thought she would never ever receive again, not after Sam and the girls, destined to forever be alone and seek solace for just one night at the time, but here she was. The flood of emotion was almost overwhelming, causing tears to sting in her eyes.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and turned towards her. Her eyes examined his face, his eyes, only to confirm that he had been serious. Instinctively she placed her hand against his cheek, the stubble of his beginning beard softly scratching the palm of her hand. He leaned into the touch with a soft, content purr. She smiled and ran her thumb over his cheekbone.

Their gazes found each other, held each other captive, conveying every important word and feeling unspoken. Her eyes drifted to his mouth and back up to his eyes. She inched closer, and so did he. Tilting her head back a little, she parted her lips. Shallow breaths between them mingled, stole into their mouths, when he closed the distance and pressed his lips on hers, his hands coming to rest on her cheeks.

It wasn't their first kiss, not even remotely close to it, but it certainly was different, felt different. Yet as always it was positively electrifying. She closed her eyes and submerged into the moment.

The kiss was slow and tender, lingering and tentative. Her hand slid from his cheek to the back of his head, fingertips scratching his scalp, drawing soft growls from him. A soft moan escaped her when she felt him swipe his tongue along her lower lip, followed by a broken whine at the back of her throat when she granted him access.

Her soft whimpers accompanied his tender exploration of her mouth. Very different indeed. Running out of air, they were forced to break off their kiss. Lazily she opened her eyes and smiled contently when he smiled warmly at her. His eyes shone brilliantly, a light in a dark world which hid deadly enemies. He seemed more relaxed, somehow looked even younger than she had ever seen him. It caused her heart to skip a beat as she realized that she was catching a glimpse of the man he might have been, without all of this.

Unintentionally and yet not unsurprising, this sudden honor set her very core ablaze. The heat spread through her lower abdominal region like a wildfire, only to pool together at the apex of her legs again.

Over the time they had been together she had learned that he didn't need much to turn her on, or as she had tried to explain it away for and to herself; it was simply a physical attraction, animal and raw, a means to release all that pent up energy and frustration. Only slightly more than the one-morning-stands she had purposely sought, as it had been a reoccurring event. There had been enough suitors, but after Sam she had intentionally kept any man wanting more than just a lay for the morning from her life. Conscious punishment for being away from her family the morning the world had gone to hell, even the very reason of her absence had been trying to stop those events from unfolding. Sam, the twins.

Her thoughts took a darker turn again, only to be interrupted and stopped when Tyler moved close and kissed her again. Coaxed by his gentleness, she ended the kiss and crawled on his lap, facing him, her arms resting loosely on his shoulders. His arms snaked around the small of her back, forced her deeper into his lap and elicited a throaty moan from her when she felt the effect she had on him press against her through several layers of clothing.

She looked from his mouth to his eyes and back again and worried her lower lip with her teeth, earning a lustful growl from him. A smirk formed on her lips mere seconds before she kissed him again. Her eyes fell shut as she surrendered to him once more. His hips rolled back and forth smoothly while she ground against him.

"Ames," he breathed after he broke off the kiss this time, before he rested his forehead against hers.

No matter how wonderful this make-out session was, it would not suffice. He knew it. She knew it. They both needed more. It wouldn't simply be just sex. It would be sharing a deep physical and psychological connection with each other. An intimate confirmation that he was her man where she was his woman. With the adrenaline still in her system, she doubted it would be as romantic as she imagined it would be. Maybe there would be more time for that later on? When this whole mess was finally sorted.

Her gaze was drawn by a shed in the back of the yard. Not the most ideal place, but she would take what she could get. Unless Charley and his rather hysterical wife would permit them the use of their bed, which she seriously doubted. Instead she let her desire for him dictate her mind: the shed would do just fine.

She disentangled herself from him, got to her feet quickly and grabbed his hand to tug him along, which turned into hurried dragging. Luckily they found the shed unlocked, and she let out a breath of relief she hadn't noticed she had been holding. The tiny building was narrow and full with gardening tools. However she was not going to let that minor inconvenience stop her.

Tyler had caught on the second she had started pulling him in the direction of the shed. He had yet to stop grinning like the damn Cheshire cat. Something she would soon correct because the moment he shut the door behind them and turned to face her, she pounced on him. On his belt to be specific.

Impatiently she unbuckled it, pulled it from the loops and tossed it aside. His deep growl of want turned her blood to liquid fire again. Her breathing became labored when he attacked the button and zipper of her pants with an equal fervor. To be followed by a surprised yelp when he wasted no time and slid his hand down the front of her pants and down her panties.

"Ty," she moaned as his fingers explored her nether region, bucking against them softly as they sought to tease and please her.

With very little room to maneuver, he managed to back her up against the closed door and moved in closer. She whimpered in protest when his hand disappeared from her panties and moved up under her t-shirt instead. Wedged between him and the door, she panted and squirmed as his touch drove her near insanity. Expertly he pressed a leg between hers so he could use his hands to expose her chest by pushing her shirt up. Thank whatever being that she was bra-less.

Her hands flew into his hair when he leaned down and began lavishing one breast with his mouth and the other with his hand before switching back and forth, equally dividing his attention. Mewling, she writhed under his touch, ground on his leg, in desperate search of release. She tugged on his hair and murmured incoherent pleas to end this sweet torment, unsure how much longer she could withstand.

The shed-door groaned and creaked suspiciously under the repeated impact of their joined bodies, like it could give any second. She wrapped her arms around him even tighter and buried her face in the crook of his neck, her eyes screwed shut. Only slightly muffling the sounds he tore from her with every nip at the skin of her neck, with every hard snap of his hips. Not that she longer cared who heard, she was well far and beyond that.

All that mattered was the here and now, connected with the man she loved as he buried himself deep within her over and over and over again. By now her entire body was pleasantly tingling, muscles twitched uncontrollably from the pleasurable strain, her walls clenched hard around him at their own accord. The coil in the pit of her stomach, at the very core of her being, wound tighter and tighter. Blood thundered in her ears, with a soft ringing underneath it, turned his rumbling growls distant.

"Ty."

His name became a mantra as he drove them closer and closer to sweet oblivion. His thrusts, determined, forced the air from her lungs, and her breathing had grown so ragged to the point of hitching with each full return. The white-hot mass of delicious tension in her lower abdomen reached critical mass, ready to break.

So enticingly close! Her body and mind broke, dissolved into sweetest nothing, at his latest thrust when his lips clamped down on pulse point in her neck. On primal instinct, she wrapped herself around him rigidly, fingers digging deep into soft flesh, heels pressing hard into his ass. His full first name turned into a long, loud squeal.

Blissful oblivion.

Reality slowly returned when she felt him lean against her heavily, felt the rapid brushes of his breathing past her ear and felt the soft jerks of his loins while he spilled the last of his seed inside her. After a few moments he began to stir but she kept him firmly into place, unwilling to let go just yet.

"Not yet," she breathed. "Big daddy," she added before she softly bit his earlobe.

A huge smirk spread across her face when she felt him shudder at word and action. The tiny bit of friction sent her mind back to mere moments ago. She hoped that he would take it as the title of affection she meant it to be, instead of reading something into it.

"Sexy momma," he purred, kneading her bare behind tenderly while rolling his hips into hers.

He tore another moan from her as he nipped his way down her throat carefully, continuing to rock against her.

"Keep this up," she whimpered. "And you might make me one," she teased playfully, unable to suppress a louder moan.

"In another time and place maybe," he growled softly as he nipped and sucked his way up her neck.

The statement brought a mix of relief and somehow sadness. Having a child should be furthest from her mind, especially with what she knew was still to come, but she had already been a mother once and there were days where she longed to feel like that again. If only the world wouldn't go to hell soon.

At least Tyler had a similar idea, and it sparked a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest that he wasn't entirely dismissive of the idea. Under different circumstances. She understood. And agreed.  
She leaned her head back against the surface of the door, allowing her eyes to fall shut, only to snap open again when he removed one hand from her behind and used it to tilt her head so he could kiss her. His tongue slid silkily along hers when he deepened the kiss. A moan broke at the back of her throat.

Her fingers slid over the clothed hard planes of his chest down to his sides. A deep frown creased her brow when she felt something lukewarm and wet on her fingertips. Shock settled in when she realized what it could be. Blood. His blood, hidden from view by his dark clothes.

She glanced down and saw a lot more of it, smeared across her abdomen where their bodies had collided in their lover's play. An act that now seemed very selfish, given how she had failed to notice that he was injured.

"Ty, shit! Put me down and lift up your shirt, baby," she told him and he obeyed. "You're bleeding."

"Hmm, right. Metal juice might've nicked me," he agreed airily.

"The other blood site at the scene... was yours," she concluded, annoyed that he hadn't told her.

He nodded and pulled his shirt down again.

"Shouldn't it have healed by now? I mean," she searched for the right words.

"With some proper rest, yup... None for me though. Other priorities."

"Ty," she sighed tiredly and ignored what was left unsaid.

She was still getting used to his casual attitude about serious injuries, as it was day-to-day practice for him.

"It's just a flesh wound," he offered.

She leaned down and inspected the entry wound, anger slowly rising when an idea formed of what had gone down: "Turn around," she ordered, suppressing a gasp of shock when she saw the exit wound as she had suspected there would be. "How can you claim it's just a flesh wound, when it's obviously a through-n-through?!"

His answer was a shrug and she wanted to hit him for it. The machine had skewered him and he acted like it was just a small scrape.

"It could've fucking hit something vital and you're bleeding out on the inside," she seethed.

He chortled, obviously amused by that assumption: "The nano's won't let me die so easily."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Tyler Devlin? You're still bleeding!"

This time he shook his head in response: "It closed just fine. Only opened up again just now."

She was about to ask how when she realized the how. Heat rose to her cheeks.

"Even so... Why didn't you say something?"

"And ruin the moment?" He countered.

"Before that," she added. "When we sat talking on the steps, you could've said something then."

"More important things to deal with," was his answer.

He growled deeply disgruntled when Amy made him sit on a kitchen chair, without his shirt on. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his battle scars. In fact it was quite the opposite. He wore them as badges of merit and honor.

However the unfamiliar woman seemed almost hysterical when she checked him over. Michele, Charley's wife and certified nurse. One would think she would have seen quite a few gory things in her line of work, but one look at her now and one questioned if she had chosen the right job.

With Charley tending to Racheal for now, Michele had volunteered to inspect his latest wound. He wondered why and would surely have remarked on it if Amy had not requested his full cooperation under no uncertain terms.

"Oh god," Michele mumbled as she checked out his most recent injury.

It was easy to manage not rolling his eyes but it took him a lot more effort to swallow the sarcastic remark that lay on the tip of his tongue. However the look on Amy's face kept him from doing so. Telling him silently that she had reached the limit of what she would allow.

Still it was tempting to make that remark, but if he wanted a shot at taking her out to dinner this evening, he better be on his best behavior.

John looked back at the others in the hotel. Alex, Sarah and Derek were having a heated debate about where to move on to after the crisis period had passed. Surely, they'd be recognized if they remained in a hotel full time. Too many guests watching and desk clerks with access to cameras. He balled his fists in frustration. Another move, another moment of running away, another terminator chasing them. Endless struggles to live a normal life. He closed his eyes tried to suppress the rage building. The others talked hushed quietly and the room became still. Talking was heard from outside the room, most likely from down the hall. A neighbor perhaps but Cameron's disposition let them know something was off. The machine had moved close to the door, in front of John with her gun drawn. "That's Racheal's voice." She droned in her monotone voice.

"Racheal's dead." Derek pointed out.

"Yes, but the T-1000 is capable of mimicking human shapes and voices. Disguising himself as Racheal Connor would allow him the perfect opportunity to catch Destiny off-guard and finish his mission of terminating her. Destiny isn't here but he has the means to stop her from being born." Cameron replied.

"We know what his mission is." Alex snapped as Sarah motioned for John to get out on the balcony.

The door jiggled a bit and the voices stopped altogether. Suddenly, the door swung open and there stood TJ and Amy, both supporting the older Racheal between them. All were covered in sweat and dirt like they had spent the night sleeping in the open and ran a mile to get to the hotel.

"We're back." Amy huffed.

The hammer of a gun went down. "Prove it's you." Alex demanded.

TJ thought for a minute. "When you met me, a terminator shot me that morning after he killed my dad. "

"When you first met me, I brought you the turk." Amy stated.

Alex pointed the gun at Racheal. "And you?"

Racheal had a hard time standing after the being dragged to the room. "When Destiny was born, I asked "Why does my baby look more like you than does me?" And you said..."

"She doesn't look more like me, she looks like her father." Alex supplied and lowered the gun. "We thought you were dead."

TJ and Amy helped carry Racheal in and lay her back on one of the beds. "I've been busy." Racheal grunted as Tyler escorted Destiny and the younger Racheal back into the suite.

Later that night, John went out to the poolyard to put some distance from today's events. He was angry with Tyler for taking Racheal out and using her as a blood bag but then again, he had done that with Tyler and TJ, forcing the younger one to become infected early. He looked out over the pool area and heaved a deep sigh. Racheal's words from the other night echoed in his ears and felt guilty. He had made it hard on everyone lately. Racheal's outburst had given him enough food for thought, and she had been right to chew him out.

There was only one person in the water, as midnight was fast approaching, swimming lane after lane, but it was in correspondence with Tyler had told him. TJ was indeed putting in the work to be better prepared.

He trudged to the poolside and sat on his heels, his hands folded together between his legs, waiting rather impatiently for TJ to notice him. A few minutes went by and he began to wonder if TJ was ignoring him intentionally when TJ tapped the edge of the pool one last time and pushed off a little to float.

"Hey, man, what's up?" TJ asked barely out of breath.

"Got a minute?" He countered, feeling nerves clump together in the pit of his stomach.

It was best to grab the bull by the horns, but he pondered the wisdom of that decision when the bull was similar to Tyler Devlin. Time to face the music and dance.

TJ looked at him suspiciously, approached the edge again and hoisted himself out of the water before turning and sitting. John noticed that he was wearing wide swimming trunks, undoubtedly forced on him by Destiny. TJ never had any trouble drawing the attention of girls, and John figured it was very unwelcome to Destiny. He smirked.

"So?" TJ offered.

"Look," he began.

"If this is another lecture about Des and me dating, save it, alright?" TJ interrupted, sounding warily.

He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. Of course TJ would be on the defense.

"Look," he repeated. "I know I've been acting stupid, you know."

TJ kept quiet, only shrugged his strong shoulders. John couldn't help but notice the few scars TJ had already collected in service of the Connors. However TJ didn't lack any confidence as he wore those scars as badges of honor, not covering them up in shame.

"I guess... I guess that with knowing the future, I figured I was above everyone else. Racheal was to be my wife, you to be my best friend... Because that's how it was going to be. It felt like I didn't have to put in time and effort because it was going to happen anyway."

"Is there a point to this?" TJ asked bluntly.

He pursed his lips, suppressing his temper before he continued: "I owe you an apology."

TJ's head shot up in surprise until it morphed into an expression of 'Ya think?' but he didn't voice the words, for which John was grateful. Apologizing was hard enough as it was.

"I acted like a complete jackass."

TJ remained quiet.

"Can't say that I like it that you and Destiny are dating, because she will be my kid at some point, but I do have to admit that you're good to her... Unlike me to Racheal," he sighed sadly. "Because it is supposed to be, I took everything for granted. I destroyed our friendship. I destroyed my relationship with Rache. I alienated most of the people who would always stand by me. I brought a lot of unnecessary drama into all of our lives. And I am sorry for that. For all of it."

TJ nodded slowly: "Mhm."

It wasn't exactly the reaction he had been hoping for, but he couldn't blame TJ for it either. He had screwed up. Big time. Now it was time to learn to be humble and take it like a man. So he waited patiently, even though the squatting position he was still in caused his legs to burn and fall asleep.

"I have to say I am surprised that you came out here and apologized to me," TJ said after a few moments of silence. "I do appreciate and accept it..."

"But?"

"I am not one to forget, John."

He swallowed hard: "I know."

"However," TJ paused. "Instead of rebuilding our old friendship, how about we start a new one, take the lessons learned and implement them? Because I'm not sure if I can ever be your best friend again. Not after the way you treated Des, or me. But I will be your friend, your brother-in-arms."

Again he had to swallow hard. It was more than he deserved and yet it felt like a loss. A loss he could only blame himself for. TJ smiled slowly and extended his hand: "So... friends?"

He nodded and shook TJ's hand: "Friends."

Now if John could apologize to Destiny and earn her forgiveness, he might have a way to earn back Racheal's trust. This would be difficult since Destiny often did not believe in forgiveness but he had to try if he ever wanted Racheal to forgive him. John ran his hand through his hair and tried to make a plan.

The next afternoon, John walked out to the poolyard to get some air, away from the arguing adults. He found the pool to be occupied by Racheal and TJ who were horsing around and racing between the lanes. Destiny was sitting in a chair beneath an umbrella and watched them. _"Here goes nothing."_ He thought and sat down in a chair beside her. She didn't even bother to look up at him.

"Can we talk?"

"I can but I don't know if you're capable."

"Very funny."

"I thought so too."

"Seriously, Destiny. Can I talk to you?"

"I thought we were talking."

John bit back his anger and tried again. "I want to apologize."

"Save it. I'm not in the mood for your lies today."

"I'm not lying. I do want to apologize to you for the way I've treated you."

She waved her hand dismissively and went back to watching TJ and Racheal race.

John sighed deeply and stared at her and her focus. "Why aren't you out there with them?

"I can't swim." Destiny muttered embarrassed.

"Why not?"

"Because I never learned. I thought you were here to apologize."

"If you would be kind enough to listen to my apology, I could teach you how to swim."

"I've made it this long without learning, I'll be fine." She said and walked back to the hotel suite without another word. John sighed frustrated and wondered off hand if he could convince the older Racheal to consider spanking Destiny for her attitude or at least hog tie her so she'd be forced to listen. On second thought, he had just gotten back on good terms with TJ and his revenge against Des would damage that. A part of him wished he was his future self if only to help himself sort through his current issues.

Destiny marched herself back to the hotel suite and climbed on the bed to lay down next to her mother. With most of the team members out scoring some type of financial profit or a location for a new home, the rooms were quiet and empty. Only Alex, Racheal and the teenagers remained. Destiny felt a hand touch her back softly.

"What's wrong, sweetpea?" Racheal asked tiredly. Immediately Destiny felt guilty for waking her after the night they both had.

"Nothing, mom." Destiny mumbled and curled to her pillow.

Racheal gave her a light tap on the backside. "Be honest and tell me the truth."

Destiny rolled over to face her. "John tried to apologize, I kind of told to him to go hell."

"Why?"

"He doesn't want to apologize. He's just saying the words so Racheal will forgive him and go back to screwing with him. He doesn't mean any of what he says, just like at home."

Racheal sighed deeply.

"Destiny. You know he doesn't apologize lightly and never to those he thinks are unworthy of it. If he's willing to apologize to you then he's admitting he's made a mistake and wants to correct it. It also means he wants to restore whatever relationship he had with you. This is not something he does on a whim and it's not something he doesn't mean. He's trying and you owe it to the man he'll be to hear him out. I'm not saying you have to forgive him or even accept the apology. Just listen and decide."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd take his side. You always choose John over me."

"If you remember, you always choose your father over me as well. You'd side with your father even If you knew he was wrong."

"John isn't dad."

"Not yet but give him a chance. TJ did. He listened to the whole apology and chose to try again with him. You trust TJ's judgment don't you?"

"Yes."

"Second chances are there for a reason. You may need a second chance from him someday."

Destiny just looked at her and said nothing. Racheal shoved her mildly. "Go on."


	18. Chapter 17: Strong

Chapter 17: Strong

Destiny trudged outside back to the pool-yard. Immediately taking note of the exits and marking everyone's positions, she made her way back to her chair and picked up her magazine. John had remained seated since she left and glanced at her. "Change your mind?" He asked.

Destiny crossed her arms. "Mom."

He nodded. "How is she?"

"Thought you were going to apologize."

John sighed. "I am sorry that I have made things hard on you. That wasn't my intention at first but then when you and TJ got together, I made things hard on purpose. I wanted to ruin what you had. I'm not going to lie to you, I hate the idea that the two of you are together. It bothers me that he's touched you. I don't like it but I can't change it. If I were future me perhaps then I could do something."

"Dad would kill him if he was here."

John smirked and continued. "Exactly. I just..."

"He'd kill him just like he'd kill you if he found out you slept with mom." She interrupted.

John froze. "I didn't sleep with your mom."

"I thought you said you wouldn't lie."

He swallowed hard and thought. "She told you?"

"No, but I've gotten good at observing people. Mom came back to my room still in her nightclothes. She always gets dressed right after she wakes up. Always. Never known her not to but she hates making up a bed. She left TJ in charge of me the night I got shot, and he offered her his room which she told him she'd accept. TJ told me that his bed was made up when he checked it the next morning. Made up just like he does it. She never went to bed that night, not in that bed. She went somewhere else to sleep, and your bed creaks when you're having sex. Didn't take much to realize where she was. Besides, you just confirmed it."

John didn't move but inwardly he was cursing himself.

"Why did you do it? You had Racheal. Is one not enough?"

"I love Racheal but one of the things I like the most is that I have a future with her. I did till I made her mad anyway. We were supposed to be together and that made me love her more, she wouldn't run off. I was planning to go to Rache while you were sleeping when I saw your mom and the want was there. She didn't push me away.

"Of course not, she misses dad and genetically you're the same."

He smiled faintly. "She's beautiful now but her body only gets better with age. She's gifted in breasts but hers get bigger because she's fed you with them. Her hips are wider because she birthed you. Her belly has marks from being pregnant." John shifted uncomfortably in his seat and continued. " She's changed physically because she's had kids and she did that with me, for me. Her body is changed because she loves me and I love that."

Destiny snorted. "Yeah and the big scar on her stomach is from a miscarriage. A terminator attacked mom because she's married to you. The attack killed my brother, who she tried to have because you wanted a child. They had to cut him out of her and she's forever scarred mentally and physically because dad wanted a son."

John pinked the bridge of his nose. "I am sorry that that happened but I can't change it."

"You could invest in birth control."

"Is that really what you want?"

"Yes, no. I don't know, da..John. I want to go home."

He sighed again. "I am sorry."

"No, you're only saying it because Racheal is mad and won't sleep with you."

"You're just going to continue to hate me aren't you?" He asked.

"Maybe. Ask me in twenty years."

"Is that why you won't hear me out? Because you're angry at... him and I will become him? "

Destiny said nothing so John continued. "You can't take it out on him so you're adding his faults to mine. That's harsh."

Destiny focused her attention on TJ doing laps in the pool. "John Connor is sometimes harsh too."

"How so?"

"Present you called TJ a mutt even though he didn't deserve it. You ruined my date with TJ because you simply wanted to. Dad kept Tyler and Amy apart even though he knew they liked each other because he didn't want them together. "

"If that's all he did then that's nothing."

Destiny pondered to herself. Future John was rumored to do horrible things that made people doubt the trust they had placed with him. Destiny herself could not think of anything horrible that he had done besides deny a chance at love to his closest friends and advisers. He had sent people to their deaths but what fighter had not? She had not witnessed her father's darkness. Maybe he was careful and kept her from seeing it. The only terrible thing he had done in her presence was the belting he had given her after she had snuck off with Katya to fight. Even then she understood his reasoning in hindsight. His girls ran away to a war-zone to fight the machines. He had watched them get captured by the enemy, imprisoned in the same work camp he had been in and knew they were going to be tortured; Held as bait if they were lucky or killed if they were not. All her the mighty John Connor could do was send in soldiers and hope for the best. No one would allow him or their mother to risk themselves for them.

"Well he belted me for about 30 minutes one time."

John blanched. "What did you do?"

"Ran off to kick some tin can ass, got caught and thrown in Century."

"And you wonder why he was mad?"

"No, I know why. He told me while he was doing it, made it very clear why he was angry and why I deserved every smack."

"I'm sure he's forgiven you."

"I haven't forgiven him yet."

"Sorry."

Destiny sighed feeling her anger seep away like a deflated balloon. "Fine, I forgive you."

He reached over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"Mhm" She mumbled as he excitedly got up and ran over to Racheal.

* * *

She watched as John and Racheal took off further into the hotel grounds. To talk or screw, she didn't know and didn't care. She focused on TJ. He kept doing laps in the pool. He was building his own endurance and strengthened his ability to hold his breath. She put her magazine down and made her way over to the pool, careful not to slip on the water trail Racheal left behind. Destiny kicked her shoes and socks off and slipped her feet into the pool water. She watched TJ keep swimming. TJ popped up next to her and grabbed the concrete next to the spot where Destiny was sitting. He took a glance at what she was wearing. Tank top, shorts and flipflops. He smirked and pulled her into the water with him. She shrieked in surprise when she went under. TJ pulled up and held her pressed up against him. She clung to him in a death hold. "Sorry, Princess. Didn't mean to scare you."

She took a deep breath. "You know I can't swim."

"We're not swimming. I'm holding you. You're not going anywhere."

"Why did you..?"

"You watch the water even when I'm not in it. You want to be in it. This way, you're in it but you're safe."

"No one is ever safe." She mumbled.

"You can trust me."

"I do."

TJ gently let go of her once her feet touched the shallow end. Destiny reached out and ran her hands through the water, testing the sensation. He let her slowly walk around the pool, getting used to the water and helping her float once she felt ready. Destiny closed her eyes and tried to get used to the feeling of being suspended in water. Laughter broke her out of her trance and she jumped in surprise. Destiny found herself sinking to the bottom of the deep end when a hand gripped the back of her shirt and yanked her out. Being held in the air a few feet above the ground, Destiny looked up to see Tyler with his iron grip on her. Amy stood by his side and laughed. "Do you need water wings, kiddo?"

"Bite me, Adams."

"Thanks for the offer but no thanks, kid."

Destiny groaned as Tyler dropped her on solid ground. "We're having a meeting, time to head back."

Destiny got to her feet as TJ pulled himself out of the pool and handed Destiny her shoes. Tyler and Amy headed back to the hotel. Cameron and Sarah scanned the hotel grounds looking for John and Racheal who quickly ran out from near a garden area. Sarah scowled but said no word and motioned for the teens to follow inside.

* * *

Once everyone was inside, Tyler had Derek close the door and began his announcement. "We've managed to secure some funding to buy a new home and have located a place to live. Once we feel comfortable enough to move Racheal, we will begin moving over. There are eleven of us so I recommend taking over a handful of people a day, starting with the most important. Sarah and the kids should head over tomorrow. Alex, RC and I will head over in the next day followed by Amy, Derek and Cameron to arrive a day later. It gets us all over there in select groups but without attracting too much attention to ourselves."

Destiny smirked. "Too Late."

Her mother lightly slapped arm to hush her. Racheal frowned. "Why are you wet?"

"Trying to swim."

"Hmm. Change your clothes before you catch a cold."

Destiny groaned and headed off into the bathroom as Cameron laid supplies from Charley on the table beside Racheal and lifted up her shirt to expose her wound. The younger Racheal walked over to the bed and helped Cameron remove the soiled bandage. She looked away for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to still her nerves. She looked back and pulled some baby-wipes from the package and tried to clean the area as Cameron opened a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and poured it into the wound. The older Racheal winced and gasped as it foamed. Once the foam dissipated then they wrapped a clean bandage around the wound and moved Racheal over to her side to change the bandage on her back.

Destiny emerged from the bathroom dressed in some night clothes and then climbed over to the bed where her mother lay and watched as they patched her up. She curled up to her mother's front and went to sleep. The younger Racheal finished the wrappings with Cameron and attempted to climb into bed on the other side of her older-self.

* * *

The next morning, Sarah packed the four teenagers into a car she lifted from the parking lot and drove to their new location in Riverside. Sarah left the car running and opened the door to the new house, going through each room with her gun drawn. When she determined there was no threat, she left the house to retrieve the kids. The four teens followed her into the house and were surprised that there was no furniture in the house.

"We really are starting with nothing this time. " John remarked.

"We were lucky to find a house so quickly. " Sarah retorted.

Racheal and Destiny shrugged and started to explore the house. They both ran upstairs to explore the range of bedrooms. TJ was more interested in the lower level of the house. He kept looking over at the windows, gauging the level of view down the street. Racheal and Destiny looked through each of the bedrooms, trying to determine which one had the best view.

"This one has a good view down the street." Destiny called from the back bedroom.

"This one has a bigger closet." Racheal answered from the other end.

Destiny walked into the room and shrugged. "You don't have any clothes right now besides the ones you're wearing."

"We'll get more later on." Racheal snapped back.

John walked into the room. "Which room did you pick, Rache?"

"Think I'll stick with this one."

"Cool, then I'll get the one next door." He smirked. Destiny gagged.

"No, you won't." Sarah announced as she walked into the room.

They all turned to look at her.

"The two of you will be roomed at opposite ends of the hall."

"Mom, that's not fair." John whined.

"Destiny and TJ will be at opposite ends of the hall as well. One couple going at it lately is more than enough. This won't be another house of ill repute."

John scoffed. "Fine. Then I'll be across from Destiny and TJ can be across the hall from Rache."

TJ shrugged as he appeared in the doorway. "Won't stop much."

Sarah simply glanced at him before heading back downstairs. "We'll all be sharing rooms this time, John. Not enough bedrooms for all of us to have solitude. Tyler and Amy will have the apartment above the garage; give the rest of us the ability to sleep through the night. The rest of you will be paired up as well. Two to a room."

* * *

A few days later, everyone was attempting to settle in. Destiny and her mother had claimed the far back bedroom on the left with John and TJ sharing a room across from them. Sarah and Alex shared a room at the beginning of the hallway on the left and the younger Racheal shared a room with Cameron on the right side across from Sarah. Tyler and Amy shared the space above the garage to distance the sound of Amy's nightly cat calls. Derek remained on the couch.

John peaked around the corner from the living room to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table going through papers. Most likely going through the new Ids or sorting through leads on Skynet. It was always investigate Skynet this and research that. John was more focused on trying to live a life in the time that he had left before the war with Skynet took away his future from him. From what he found out by talking with the time-travellers he had sent back, the war with Skynet was still going strong while he was watching his hair turn gray. He may never live to see the end of the war. In his opinion, he wanted to distance himself as far from Skynet as he could, while he could. The war would consume his life in many ways. It could wait until Judgement day as far as he was concerned.

Not his mother though, she was obsessed. Spending every minute she had into trying to track down Skynet's beginning components. Kill it before it's born, stop judgment day all together. John was all for that. He just... wanted someone else to do it. He wanted to live a life as John Reese or Baum or Sanders. He didn't care which. He wanted to be anyone but John Connor. Someone normal. Someone who could be anything, who was allowed to be anything and here he was prepared to give up the cherished ruse in exchange for a girl; Though in his mind, she wasn't just some girl.

He sighed and bit the bullet. "Mom, can we talk?"

Sarah kept her eyes on the paperwork. "About what, John?"

"Racheal."

"Which one? Destiny's mother or the girl you're wasting your time with."

"The younger one."

"What about her?"

"I want to marry her."

Sarah reached across the table and grabbed him by the shirt collar. She pulled him over towards her, making him look her in the eye."Is she pregnant?"

"What?! No, mom , I swear she isn't."

"I wouldn't be surprised.  
John kept his temper in check. "She's not, we're being careful, I swear."

"You shouldn't be doing anything."

"We're past that stage now, mom."

You want to marry her for the wrong reasons."

"And those are?"

"You're doing this because she asked you to."

"Wrong. I haven't said a thing to her about it. She doesn't know. I just wanted to do it before the world blows up."

"You're just doing it because that's what happened in the last timeline so you feel like you need to choose that path."

John scoffed. "No, the future isn't set. I can choose anyone else. The other Racheal tried to tell Rache to choose herself. Me or TJ or someone else, she was very clear that she was free to choose, and she still picked me."

Sarah shook her head and stood up to sort her paperwork. "You're just doing this because you're insecure after your fight with TJ and Destiny. You think this make you look grown up compared to them and it keeps you busy with your head in the sand and out of the game. It's an excuse to not train or prepare and you get some action in the process."

"Is that really what you think?"

"You also want to spite me because you know I don't like her."

John rolled his eyes. "Mom, I promise you you're wrong."

"Then prove it, John."

He thought for a moment. "Okay... You think I want to marry Rache because it will keep me distracted. What if I trained more? Running in the morning, target practice, research missions, the works. If I went back to training all the time, then what?"

Sarah pondered for a moment. "Tyler will train you like he's training Destiny. You will get up early every morning and train until he's done with you. You've slacked off long enough."

John smiled faintly. "And If I train with Tyler like you want?"

Sarah looked him in the eyes. "You can marry the girl but I have conditions. You will follow Tyler's orders without question. You can marry her whenever you want but in a low-key secluded place. A thousand people in a church is out of the question. "

"John rolled his eyes. "Can I at least have the night in a hotel?"

"One night, but Cameron will be remaining on the hotel grounds for your safety."

"There goes the honeymoon."

"This is not a joke, John."

"I know, mom... Fine. I agree to your terms. I will train with Tyler every day and Racheal and I can get married somewhere away from a crowd, that's safe. We can have that night in a hotel but Cameron has to go also for safety reasons. Can we stay in the same room after that?"

"As long as you two remain on some type of protection and she receives training as well."

John smiled and kissed her forehead. "Thanks mom."He turned to leave.

"John.. If you fail to keep your word, I will personally have Tyler crack down on you and work you as hard as he can."

"I know." He sighed.

* * *

He walked away feeling as if he was on cloud nine. All he had to do now was to think of a good way to ask her, plan when to ask her and of course, get a ring. John walked back to his room and sat down at his desk. He had a few ideas on the how to ask and he knew exactly when he wanted to ask. The older Racheal had mentioned in passing a few months back that her birthday was in June. June 18th to be exact. He fired up his laptop and did a search. The legal age of marriage in the state of California was eighteen for both genders. Sixteen if parental consent was given. John himself was already nineteen. Racheal was still seventeen until the 18th. He smirked. She would be eighteen years old on the 18th and therefore legally able to marry. He had already thought about what to give her as a gift, now he knew. He just didn't know how to plan it yet. It would take time. For now he had a much more potent problem. How would he be able to get a ring? He certainly couldn't afford it and there was no way he'd ask his mother to lend him the cash. He was lucky enough that he had gotten her permission for the wedding in the first place. There was little chance of him having any time left to himself to locate a part-time job in order to save for it. Even if he did manage to gain employment, it would take him a very long time to acquire the amount needed.

Credit cards were an option. He'd never had his own and couldn't ask his mom to use hers since it was always needed for supplies. He sighed deeply. He was in college though and credit card companies frequented the area every day. They were always looking to sign up some innocent student with their company. They'd flash signs claiming "automatic acceptance" and "free t-shirt when you sign." Students flocked to their cardboard tables, always willing to sign away their credit in exchange for "free" money and a sparkly prize. They were never thinking about the debt that would follow them. Fortunately though for John, he never had to worry. His whole identity would change before the balance was due. His alias could owe five grand but would the debt would vanish instantly whenever his alias did. It was what Sarah often did. Get a new identity, pile up debt on a few cards to survive and then leave the debt and cards behind along with her driver's license and fake past. Sarah Reese owed twenty-thousand, Sarah Baum owed millions but Sarah Connor was debt-free. He could give it a try too. One card may buy them the rings but he might need more for other expenses. His recent searches told him the average couple spend twenty-five thousand on a wedding, half of that was spent on the wedding band set themselves. John smirked as he clicked the submit button on his two applications.

A few days later, John sat at the table and tried to concentrate on his schoolwork. Why his professors thought he'd needed to know algebra considering what the future held, he had no idea. A light tapping at the door got his attention and he jumped to his feet. He peaked over and saw Charley standing at the door. John frowned _. "What on earth was he doing here?"_ John walked over and opened the door. "Charley?

"Hey, Johnny. Can we talk?"

"Sure, Charley, what's going on?"

Charley pulled out two envelopes from his pocket. "I got some mail for you that came to my house."

John took the mail from Charley and looked questioning at the broken seals.

"I opened in case there was some type of tracking on it. I didn't want anyone to track me here."

John nodded. "Yeah, I had ordered these a lil while ago."

"You used your last last name."

"It's easier to ditch it once I use them."

Charley smiled. "You know, Johnny, I feel that I have to warn you about credit card debt. It's a slippery slope once you get started. It'll follow you for years."

John started laughing. "On the contrary, Charley. I use them then toss them. The cards belong to someone who doesn't exist. The alias has already been used and they can't trace it here when the bill comes due."

Charley laughed. "Fair enough. Can I ask what you need them for ?"

John looked at him and smiled. "Well, Racheal's birthday is in a few days and there's thing I need to pick out for her."

"It requires two credit cards?"

John laughed. "Well, I'm getting her thing I helped you pick out for mom and I was hoping you'd help me pick out this one."

Charley smiled and through his thumb over his shoulder towards his car."I know a great place to look for one of those."

* * *

Charley pulled his truck into the parking as John handed him back his phone after using it to activate the cards. After walking in the store, they were immediately greeted by a salesman who spouted off the usual nonsense. "Hello, welcome to Jareds, the galleria of jewelry. How may we help you today?". John sighed. _"Here we go."_

Luckily for him, Charley put his hand on the shoulder and greeted the man. "Hi, my stepson here would like to propose to his girlfriend and needs some help picking out a ring."

The salesman didn't bat an eye. "Of course, right this way." He led them over to a section of glittering diamonds. _"Here comes the sales pitch."_ John thought.

"We currently have a special on all bridal sets. They're about thirty to forty percent off on specially marked ring sets." _"Of course you do."_

"Can I get an idea of what you're looking for?

John took a deep breath. _"Shame you didn't plan on these kind of questions."_

"Umm." Was all he could think of to say.

Sensing his distress, Charley chimed in. "Well why don't you tell him a bit about her, Johnny? Maybe he could make some recommendations. "

"Sure, I'd be happy to help you out with that."

John thanked the stars for bringing Charley with him.

"Great.." He muttered.

"So let's start with what kind of style do you think she'd like. Most of your generation tend to favor the stone being quite large and square shape. "

John shook his head. "No, Racheal makes fun of the square cars and says everything shouldn't be made to look like a box."

The salesman laughed. "Alright, no square then. That leaves a round shaped stone. Does she like colored stones? "

John thought for a minute. He had seen her with jewelry but she never wore anything multicoloured. "No, I think a regular diamond would work."

"Okay, now then. Would you like a single stone ring or a tri-stone ring?"

" _Hard question."_ The tri-stone would be beautiful but much more expensive and in the future, there would be no place to repair a missing diamond. With a single stone, the focus would be on it and it would likely be easier to fix and cheaper to buy.

"The single stone." He answered.

"Okay, what color band would you like? Traditionally it is yellow gold but more and more prefer the white gold color. We also have platinum which is more durable and long lasting and sterling silver which is cheaper."

"I don't know. She's very traditional but she has red hair."

"Then you'll want the silver coloring for sure. What level of durability would you like?"

"I really don't know. " John lied. He knew how much it would need to stand up in the future but he was worried about the price of three rings.

"Well you have it narrowed down really well so let me show you some samples." He disappeared into a back room for a minute and reappeared holding two small shelves of rings. "This is gold" He pointed to the one on his right."And this is platinum." He pointed to his left.

John browsed them intently, noting their style, cut and price. "Don't worry about the color, cut , clarity and all that, Johnny. Go with your gut." Charley reminded him.

John stared more intently, going back and forth with each ring on each line on each shelf. The heart cut reminded him too much of his promise ring, the marquise cut looked jagged and the princess cut didn't show the magnificence of the stone. He pointed at a ring in the lower end of the platinum. "That one." He said. The salesman pulled it out and handed it to him to look at. A simple platinum band that would hold its own against the war with a large round cut and shaped solitaire diamond. John turned it over in his hand and looked back at the remaining rings. "It's this one."

"Perfect." The salesman replied. "What about the wedding band then? Most men opt to buy both rings at the same time to guarantee they fit well together and match. Also, it's usually significantly cheaper."

John nodded so the man put back the shelves of engagement rings and brought for a shelf of rings he thought would match John's pick. He ran his eyes over the shelf, looking for a match. It was Charley who pulled it out and placed it beside the engagement ring. Another platinum band but this one had a ring of clear round diamonds in the center of it, wrapping all the way around the ring. John smiled. "Good choice, Charley."

"Alright then, Sir. What size can I get these fixed for?"

"An eight. " John blurted out. The only thing the older Racheal would help him with at all was size. "Get an eight and it will fit well now and later." She had said.

The salesman nodded and handed the rings off to another man who took the rings in the back after removing their tags. Charley nudged him."Now's the easy part. Pick yours out, Johnny."

"Any idea what you would like?" The man asked, obviously excited by the large sale he was going to make.

John nodded. "Something to match her band."

"I have just the thing." He said and pulled out a single ring.

"Platinum just likes the other two, with a row of clear, round diamonds to match the girl's wedding band."

"Perfect."

The salesman removed the tag and handed it off to be resized after making John try it on.

Charley elbowed him. "Now, is the hard part. Paying for it all."

John felt his heart drop and he counted up the price tags in his mind. He kept adding and re-adding in his mind. He'd have to use both cards up today in order to pay for it all but he could do it. One last act from John Sanders.

"Okay, that comes to eleven thousand even but since you ordered a bridal set and a wedding set, you get some discounts. Let's see, the engagement ring was on the sale too so that knocks it all down to six thousand and five hundred."

John blinked hard and handed over both cards. _"It was only money, right?_

A few clicks of a cash register and the man handed him a receipt and two boxes. _"Done."_

John thanked the guy and walked back to the truck in silence."John? You alright?"

John looked up back at Charley. "Yeah, yeah I'm good."

Charley started up the truck. "So, how are you going to do it?"

John stared at the ring box in his hand before looking at Charley." I don't know yet."

* * *

2025

"Have you lost your goddamn mind?!" Her husband seethed through gritted teeth while he slammed the palms of his hands on her desk.

It caused the discard-pile of reports to sway dangerously to the right, to the edge of her overflowing desk, but he was in luck as it remained upright and she hadn't spent hours sifting through the latest reports for nothing. She leaned back in her creaky desk chair and gave him her most neutral look. To most he was the John Connor, but to her he was simply Jo-Jo. She had long learned that she shouldn't let him intimidate her when things weren't going the way he wanted. Sure she would always back him up, but she hadn't gotten to the position of main comm specialist for TechCom on her back. She had worked her fingers to the bone, spent hours and hours pouring over important information and the insignificant, and had been recognized by Colonel Perry as an asset to TechCom very early on. In charge of compiling battlefield information, she had been crucial to a few major battles already. Not because she was John Connor's wife, but because she was very capable of carrying her own. Something her husband did not always agree on.

"You tipped him off, didn't you? Despite my specific request not to, you fucking tipped him off!" He growled angrily.

She raised an eyebrow sardonically and crossed her arms, a habit she had picked up from her mother-in-law. When John had been forcing whatever issue had gotten him worked up that time, it had turned out an effective way to have him tone down his anger. Understanding rather well what kind of pressure he was constantly under, she refused to be his punching bag.

"Watch it, John Connor," she warned him. "And so what if I did?"

He paused and looked at her intently before he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I don't get it, Rache. Why? Especially since I told you not to."

She shook her head; her husband could be so very stupidly stubborn: "Because I think you were wrong feeding false information into IntelliTech's data stream."

"So you went behind my back, changed the signature parameters so even his most stupid scout would pick up on it and thus tipped him off. Again, Rache, why? You're my wife. You're supposed to side with me."

Her eyebrows shot into her hairline and she stared at him with her mouth open. He really did not just pull the marriage card on her, did he? "I am, which is why I did it, John. And since you pulled the wife card, let me remind you that it is my duty as well to call you on your bullshit. If TechCom starts feeding false battlefield positions, we stand to lose IntelliTech all together. Because Tyler's not stupid, he'd know it's been done on purpose."

He shrugged: "A considerable loss, but not insurmountable."

She really loved her husband, but there were times she could barely stand his stubborn ass. Like now. It wasn't uncommon to put false information into the data-feed between the major divisions but never without a warning beforehand to the division leaders. It had proven to be a good way to flush out the Grays that would pop up from time to time. However this was complete misdirection and could turn out to be a very costly mistake. In more ways than one.

"You don't believe that, John. Not one bit. You told me over and over again how Adams and Devlin are important to the Resistance. Are you really willing to sacrifice one for the other? Is that how you'll play the game from now on?" She asked pointedly.

He took a deep breath: "I don't know, Rache. In war you need to be willing to sacrifice, you know that as well as I do." T

he remark cut deep, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat while tears welled in the corners of her eyes: "Yeah, I know, John. Just as loving you means you need to be willing to sacrifice too."

Finally the penny dropped: "Ah, shit, Rache. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She waved him away when he came around her desk to comfort her and though he did look hurt at her rejection he didn't press on. "Just get out of my sight, John Connor. I still have work to do, so.. just leave."

* * *

June 16th, 2010

Sarah sat at the kitchen table and cleaned her guns. The weapons always remained in pristine and functional condition but Sarah always felt the need to clean and reload them from time to time. She found solace in the simple process of taking them apart, wiping the down and rebuilding them. Life made sense when her hands were covered in gun oil, methodically wiping the barrel of her rifle. With her genetic disposition to alcoholism and her possible future of cancer, smoking and drinking were not options to unwind. Oil and steel, cloth and brush. This was her church, her solitude.

The rhythmic beat against the hardwood floor, alerted her to a visitor coming. She glanced up at the newcomer only to realize it was her future self. "Alex" as she called herself nowadays. Alex glance at the weapons cache on the table and then at her face before retrieving a glass from the cabinet. "What happened?" She asked bluntly.

Sarah kept her eyes on the rifle she was cleaning, careful to not miss a spot. "John decided to be an idiot and propose to that girl."

Alex filled her glass from the faucet and nodded. "I'm surprised he has waited this long."

Sarah laid the newly cleaned rifle down on the table and began to disable her handgun. "I'm surprised he has asked for permission. I expected him to take off with her to Vegas or Mexico in the middle of the night like he did with Riley."

Alex shook her head. "He knows you were expecting that. You'd sent Tyler or Cameron after them once you realized he was gone and they'd be dragged back home; The deed done by that point. This way it saves him some embarrassment."

Sarah sprayed the inside of the barrel with the cleaning solution. "He said she's not pregnant but I find that hard to believe. I think she's pushing him to ask."

"She isn't. She starts to show almost immediately in one way or another. She hasn't physically changed yet and she hasn't learned yet to pick up on when he's planning something. His double backing when he leaves, the panicked look on his face when he thinks someone's watching."

Sarah scrubbed the inside of the gun with the brush and thought. "I don't like her. He doesn't have time for a distraction like this. "

Alex took a sip of water and smirked. "We don't have time for this but you know as well as I do that he will do it regardless, he's just giving you a chance to be there when he does it."

Sarah shook her head to rid herself of the thought. "I don't like the idea of her with him. What does he see in her." She asked the air.

Alex sat across her from at the table and began reloading the rifle. "You're afraid she will take him from you. It's the idea of her that you hate. Someone to come between you like Cameron did when she arrived. Racheal isn't a bad person, she's a decent fighter."

Sarah put the gun on the table and looked hard at her future self. "What does she do in the future? What is her place?"

"In my time, she's the main comm. specialist for Tech Com. Intercepts all data coming in and going out between bases. She hacks into and picks up information from Skynet and distributes it throughout the bases. Weaknesses of Terminators, location of different machines, that kind of thing. Racheal picked up on Skynet's presence close to IntelliTech and managed to warn the base in time. She's planned some of the last major battles; Where to attack, what weapons to use when we went on the offensive. She's not a physical presence like Tyler or Amy. Not that kind of soldier but not worthless either. Colonel Perry runs that division and seems to speak highly of her. She earns her keep to the Human Resistance that has nothing to do with John. He could pick worse than her, look at Riley."

Sarah scowled and grunted in agreement.


	19. Chapter 18: Lavender's Blue

Chapter 18: Lavender's Blue

 _Lavender's Blue_

 _Dilly dilly_

 _Lavender's Green_

 _When I am King_

 _Dilly dilly_

 _You Shall Be Queen._

Racheal stretched out beside John on his bed and looked at him. He adjusted his position to her and looked over to be certain he was not hogging up the area.

"You need a bigger bed." She teased.

"I think mom did that on purpose to keep you out of it."

She shrugged. "Always have my bed if need be."

He smiled at that.

She settled in closer to him and laid her head against his right shoulder. He looked down at her and tried to organize his thoughts.

"Rache?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you love me?"

She looked up at him to see if he was joking. "Yes, of course."

He bit his lip. "Don't take this the wrong way, Rache but I want to be sure of some things. I want to know if we're on the same page."

She frowned. "Are you doubting me?"

"Not doubting. I want to be certain that you feel about me the way I feel about you."

Racheal glared at him, feeling as if he was making her a joke.

"Are you breaking it off with me?" She almost yelled.

"No, I'm actually thinking about long term." He said slowly.

It took her a moment to get his meaning. "Oh." She nearly whispered.

"Yeah." He said slowly. "I want to know if we have a shot at being more. I want to talk to you, not as John Connor but just as John."

"Ok, I can handle that then."

He took a deep breath. "Just imagine for a minute that you're still Racheal Sanders, the girl that I met at school and I'm just another classmate. There's no Skynet, no terminators, no future war. None of that exists, life is going the way it's supposed to go. What do you want to do with your life?"

She looked at him and pondered for a moment, reaching deep inside for the girl she was a few months back; Somewhat surprised to find the girl still there under the surface. She thought about what her ambitions used to be before John Connor.

"I want to own an art studio. Go to an art school and study under the best, paint in my spare time all the while. I'd like to open my own studio and work for other companies to pay the bills while I fill museums with my work."

He smiled at her. "I think that sounds like a good dream."

"What about you?"

John shook his head. "I never got the chance to consider it so I never have before. No hobbies or skills to speak of."

"Do you love me?" She asked, reaching for her turn.

"More than anything."

"Did you love me before or after we started sleeping together?"

John frowned at looked at her. "I loved you before, I just loved you deeper after we became lovers."

She nodded, finding herself agreeing to his statement.

"Do you want to get married?" Racheal asked quietly.

John seemed to think on it. "Yeah, I do. I think we make a great team both now and in the future. We go well together but not as well apart. "

"Do you..want kids?"

He looked at her again and smiled. "I think that's a certain thing, Racheal. With the coming war and lack of birth control, I'm certain we will have an accident along the way."

She sighed. "I meant, "Do you want to try on purpose to have them? Forget about the future war, remember?"

"Yeah, I think I'd like to have a kid or two."

"Do you want kids with me?"

He smirked. " A blue eyed, red haired kid calling the shots, sure why not?"

"I'm serious."

"Yes, of course I do. Who else would I be with?"

It was her turn to smirk. "You might fall in love with someone else, you might cheat."

His face darkened. "I would never do that. A commitment is a commitment; it's for life, Rache."

Racheal remained silent.

After a few moments of awkward silence, John spoke up. "How many children do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, you had to have been thinking about it at some point in your life, everyone does."

"I had planned three whenever I had thought about it. Three is a good number."

John sighed. "I thought about it some. If the future happens, I was thinking of only one since it would be hard to keep up with many. More if it doesn't happen. "

"Boy or girl?"

"Doesn't matter. I vote we quit after her though." He said and nodded in the direction of Destiny's room.

"Agreed."

"So that's two then, maybe three."

She laughed. "I suppose so."

"What about sex?"

She slowly rolled her eyes. "John, you get enough."

He smirked. "Well, I was hoping.."

He stopped his sentence short when she punched his arm.

"Just. I promise that I won't love anyone but you. Can you promise the same?"

She smiled at him and kissed his lips. "No one but you, Jo Jo, I promise."

* * *

June 18th, 2010

John woke up bright and early as he always did thanks to Tyler and his training. At least that was what he had called it. Training. In John's mind, it was not training but torture. He wondered to himself if Sarah had convinced Tyler to be especially hard on him as payback for slacking off the past few years. She had promised to make it difficult if John had not followed through on their agreement but so far he had. Perhaps she started in early as another lesson. John quickly climbed out of bed and rolled off onto the floor. He threw on some clothes and made it out the door just as Tyler was tying the laces on his shoes and headed out himself. John lined up next to Destiny who was currently stretching out on the grass. "Sup?" He asked. She glanced at him like she was wondering why or how he thought he was worthy enough to talk to her. He rolled his eyes in response.

Tyler had sent him and Destiny on a three mile run down the street barking orders at them to run faster and keep up. John panted and struggled to keep pace with Destiny who was clearly enjoying her ability to outrun him.

"Laugh..it..up." He wheezed.

"I am." She smirked and zipped past him, jumping over the next hurdle and kept going. John slowed down till he felt Tyler's presence behind. "Move it, kid. The tin cans can catch you easily at this pace." John gritted his teeth and pushed himself onwards.

After a grueling day of working with Tyler, John was happy to be back at home to rest. He hurried in through the back door, making certain that Sarah saw how tired and sweaty he was from his run. Last thing he needed was for her to think he wasn't putting in the work, especially for the plans he had today. After a quick shower, he changed into some casual clothes and went to go find Racheal.

He found her still asleep in her room and poked her nose. She silently swatted at him. She opened her eyes when he started laughing at her and hit him with a pillow. He noticed her gaze and smiled. "Hey, birthday girl. Wanna have some fun?"

She perked up and lifted her head off her pillow."What did you have in mind?"

"Get dressed and you'll see."

About an hour later, Racheal emerged in a matching tank and skirt combo. She had obviously taken more time on herself than usual. Her hair was curled rather than blown dry and her makeup was a bit more heavy than the usual dab of mascara and lip gloss. She hurried down the stairs to the living room where John waited. "Okay, let's go." She motioned towards the door.

"Go where?" Sarah demanded as she walked in from the kitchen. _"Shit."_

Destiny chose that moment to walk past the doorway leading from the living room to the kitchen. She smirked at John and mouthed _"Busted"_ before walking on. John rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "We were planning on going out to see a movie, mom."

"John, we've talked about this."

"Yeah, we have. I want a life and you want to keep me on lock-down."

"John." Sarah snapped.

"Look, mom, I get it. Can't we just go out anyway for a little while if we take someone with us?"

"Fine. Take Cameron with you."

"Aw come on, mom. How about Racheal?"

"No, take Tyler."

"Derek?"

"No, he isn't capable of keeping you safe."

"Amy then."

"Fine."

Laughter came from a nearby doorway. John and Racheal turned to see Amy standing there with a smug look on her face and the keys in her hand. "So, what movie are we going to see?"

John rolled his eyes and he climbed into the jeep with Racheal. Amy hopped into the driver's seat and they took off down the road. "So, where are we really going, John?" Racheal asked.

He smirked at her. "It's a surprise. You'll have to wait and see."

* * *

After some time driving away from the city, Amy pulled the jeep into a small gravel driveway behind what was once an old barn. Amy got out first and surveyed the area before motioning to John that it was safe. Quickly, he got out and helped Racheal. He gave Amy a conspiring look before grabbing Racheal's hand and tugging her in the direction of the old barn.

"Come on and close your eyes." He said and pulled her along gently through the opening of the barn and stopped her once they reached the end.

"Open your eyes, Rache."

She did and squealed loudly. In front of her was a large field of lavender, stretching on all sides as far as the eye could see with a single tree marking its center. She turned to look at John who was laughing. "I love lavender." Racheal smiled.

John grinned."I know, you told me. Lots of times." He laughed. Racheal playfully punched his shoulder.

"Hey!." He cried. "I'll get you for that."

Racheal grinned and walked backwards into the field."You'll have to catch me first." She smirked and took off into the field, gulping down the delicious scent of lavender baked by the hot summer sun.

John laughed and chased after her.

Even with his training with Tyler and Destiny, John still struggled to catch her. Racheal ran towards a single tree that marked the center of the field. _"Perfect."_ John thought. _"Right where I want you."_

He waited until she made her way around the tree and then he grabbed her as she went to race past him. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she struggled to break free. He pulled her down on the fleece blanket that had been spread out between the tree and the field. He laid her down on the blanket, quickly climbing on top of her and began kissing her. He kissed her lips and her jawline before showering her neck and moving to the exposed skin peeking through her low cut shirt. Racheal giggled and began to moan under the attention. John laughed and made certain her eyes were closed as he pulled out a red rose hiding by the field. He kissed her once more on the lips and placed the flower by the side of her face. As he had hoped, she opened her eyes to it when he pulled his mouth from hers.

She traced the stem of it with her finger and breathed in its scent.

"So I was thinking, Rache." John began.

"Yeah?"

"We'll, when we moved before this last time. We all changed our name to "Sanders". So, it's kinda like I took your name." John laughed and used his hand to guide Racheal's fingers inside the coils of the rose.

She playfully rolled her eyes at him but frowned when she felt something hard inside the head of the flower. John knew from the look on her face that she had found it. He smirked. "I was thinking, since I took your name, that maybe ...you might take mine."

The realization hit her as soon as she pulled the hard item from the rose, revealing it to be a simple silver ring with a large round cut diamond in the center. She looked at him and he smiled gently at her. "Racheal Alexandra Sanders, will you marry me?"

She grinned. "Yes."

John grinned and kissed her passionately while slipping the ring on her left hand. Racheal giggled as he showered her face and neck with kisses, the sensation of his gentle touches tickling her. "Ready for your birthday gift?"

She frowned slightly. "I thought this trip, the ring-"

"Still a piece to go." John laughed and in one fluid motion, slipped his hand under her skirt and pulled her panties off.

"Oh really?" She asked while he pulled her clothes off one piece at a time.

"Yup" He answered simply and settled between her legs. He hesitated for a moment before dragging his tongue across her sensitive folds. The moan she uttered would have made a whore blush as she ran her right hand though his hair and pressed him closer.

Sarah checked the time and paced the kitchen, glaring at the driveway and dialed her phone. "Adams, where the he

ll are you?"

Rainwater dripped from John's soaked hair onto Racheal's neck. They had abandoned their clothing as the clouds pulled together and began to thunder. The heavy scent of rain mixed with the lavender and created an intense aroma. John roughly rubbed himself against while sucking hard at her breasts."Do it, John." Racheal moaned. He pulled his mouth from her nipple and reached his arms around her back as he began jerking uncontrollably. An intense feeling of warmth and wetness burned at Racheal's belly despite the rain. John rolled off of her when he was done and laid beside her. "I owe you a bath." He said as he returned began sucking at her other breast.

Racheal closed her eyes and focused on her other senses. She listened to the heavy rainfall, feeling it cascade down her body. She felt the soggy blanket beneath her, the feeling of heat on her belly from John's seed and the soft tugging at her nipple from his lips. She heard the soft footfalls of someone approaching and despite her inner warning, she chose to ignore it. "Leave, Adams." John muttered as he pulled Racheal closer.

"Yes, Sarah. They're with me. I'm looking right at them both right now. Yes, we'll be home soon. Sure, you can talk to John."

John rolled his eyes at Amy as he and Racheal both sat up and began caressing each other. Racheal ran her hands over his chest as he squeezed her breasts.

Amy smirked and tossed the phone at him.

He glared at her as he caught it and held it to his ear. "Hi, Mom. What's up?"

"Where the hell are you?!" She demanded.

"Got a little sidetracked, Mom. Everything's fine."

"Get home now!"

"We're on our way." He said as he clicked the phone shut and tossed it back to Amy.

Amy smirked and tossed them their clothes from under the tree. "Time to go, horn-dog."

* * *

Sarah paced in the living room and glared out the window down the driveway. They were late. Every time she allowed John to go out of the house, he always returned late. Less than a year left before Judgment Day and she was on high alert. She kept focused on the coming future and stopping it. She allowed John out to be normal as much as she could with the present danger, just to allow him to have breathing room. As time edged closer, tensions ran higher. They could all use a break. The teenagers were neck n neck with the adults and as of late, they were at each other's throats. The crunch of gravel snapped her attention back to the present and she looked out the window to see the jeep pull into the driveway.

Amy walked in a few moments later with John and Racheal behind her. "You should have been home two hours ago, John Connor."

"Sorry, mom. We were busy."

"Doing what?"

"Getting engaged. I asked her and she said yes." John blurted out.

Racheal froze with her hand on the banister of the staircase. She dare not turn around. She did not need her eyes to hear Sarah's frustrated grunt. Thankfully, that was all she did. A clicking against the floor and Racheal knew Sarah was coming over to the staircase to go to her room. She stayed rooted to the floor and let Sarah pass her by, keeping her eyes to the floor as to not face her.

She felt John walk up next to her and place his hand on her shoulder. Suddenly she felt as if she could breathe again. "She didn't start yelling."

"It's an improvement."

"Yeah, she knew you'd ask?"

"We had talked about it a little while ago. My original plan was Vegas but she would have sent someone after us. Thought it was better to go ahead and be out with it. Not fair to her to really exclude her even if she doesn't really support it."

"She doesn't support it or doesn't support me and you?"

"Both."

She nodded and continued to climb the stairs with John following behind her. He quickly pulled her into his room and laid her down on bed, kissing her neck. She giggled and he quickly climbed on top of her, kissing her face and neck. He moved his arms to push back her hair as he kept kissing her lips, drawing small moans from her.

"John Connor, that's enough." His mother's voice boomed from outside the door. He pulled away from Racheal and looked towards the doorway at his mother. He really wished she allowed closed doors.

He sat at the edge of the bed, away from Racheal and looked at her. "What?"

"You need some time away from her. If you are that bored then perhaps you need more training. The C4 will not build itself."

He sighed defeated and got up. Walking past Sarah, he went downstairs and set up his makeshift shop on the table.

Sarah turned back to look at Racheal who had sat up on John's bedside. "Your older self has been looking for you. If you're going to stay here with us, the least you can do is train."

Racheal bit back a remark and simply got up, heading for the door. Sarah moved over to the right side of the door frame and grabbed Racheal's left hand , stopping her as she went to leave the room. Sarah examined the new ring of Racheal's left ring finger closely. Saying nothing, she let go of Racheal's hand and walked downstairs.

Racheal paused for a moment and walked into the bedroom her future self shared with Destiny. Her older self looked up. "You're late."

The younger Racheal bit her lip.

"Happy Birthday." She and her future self blurted out to each other simultaneously.

They both laughed and replied "Thank you."

Destiny sat on the floor and disassembled one of Sarah's shotguns.

"How was it?" The older Racheal asked.

"Great. We were out to a lavender field."

"And?"

"Ya know, played around, ran through it and picked some.. Shoot. I forgot the bunch in the car."

"Ah, so it was eventful then."

Racheal looked like she was about to burst and grinned while Destiny groaned with disgust. The younger Racheal held out her left hand to her future self who simply nodded. "Right on schedule."

The older Racheal examined the extended hand. "Solitaire diamond, platinum ring looks like. What is it? Two carat diamond?. "

The girl merely shrugged. "I didn't ask...How did you?"

The woman let go of Racheal's hand and waved the question aside. "John has excellent taste in rings. It's the same design as the one my John gave me. "

"Isn't it the same ring?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Did you tell him about yours?"

"No, I only mentioned what size to get, I wanted him to choose it. T'was curious to see if he'd choose the same ring."

The young girl grinned to herself. "I'm getting married."

Her older self laughed and looked at her own makeshift wedding band. She felt a stab of pain go through her when she remembered her original bridal set was in the future with John. She was forced to leave it behind. She shrugged to herself. Rings were only metal and stone. Her daughter's life was more important. "Yes, you are, Racheal."

The two Racheals hugged as the older whispered "Congratulations."

Destiny rolled her eyes and finished her project of pulling the guns apart. "Mom, I'm done."

"Great. You and Racheal can put them back together again."

"Then why did I pull them apart?"

"So you can put them together again under duress while being timed. The faster you can do it, the quicker you can save your own life."

Destiny snorted. "Right, or I could just call for Tyler or TJ or Cameron. It's their job to save me."

Quicker than she could blink, Racheal walked over and gripped her shoulders firmly, pinning her against the wall. "Destiny Sarah Connor, don't you ever say that! Don't you ever think that!" Racheal yelled.

Destiny glared at the floor. "Look at me! … Look at me!" Racheal repeated, giving her shoulders a firm shake.

She cupped her hand around Destiny's chin and forced her to meet her mother's eyes. "You cannot depend on someone to save your life. Yes, it may be their job but things always happen. TJ could die; Tyler could be surrounded by machines and unable to get to you. Cameron is assigned to John's safety; she will choose to save him over you every time, as she should. If he dies, you die, you know that. Your grandmother will protect you, I will protect you but humans become wounded and they die. Do you remember last time? Tyler was dying to save you; I nearly died to save you and John. The two of us together were almost not enough. The only person you can truly depend on is yourself; you and your skills. Do you understand me?... Do. You. Understand, young lady?'

Destiny looked away and nodded as her mother released her. Without another word, the two teens positioned themselves on the floor in front of the guns as the older Racheal grabbed a stop watch. She clicked the button and nodded to the teens that hurriedly began putting the rifles together. Once assembled, they loaded them, switched the safety off and took aim at an imaginary target on the wall. Racheal clicked the stopwatch off. "One minute and six seconds, Destiny, you are getting rusty. Three minutes and ten seconds for you, Racheal. Not good enough. On my mark, you will unload and disassemble the guns. We will do this again until you are both under a minute. Is that clear? "

"Yes, Mom." Destiny sighed as Racheal nodded.

"What?" She asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." They both corrected.

"Good." She clicked the stopwatch. "Now, go."

* * *

John sat at the kitchen table and put together packages of c4. He threaded the copper wires with his needle-nose pliers very carefully. He pretended to not hear his mother come down the stairs and enter the kitchen. "The ring you bought her looks expensive."

John frowned. "It was.. Wait, she showed..? You didn't take it from her did you?"

"No but I was tempted to. How did you get the money for it?"

"I used the credit card trick you showed me. "

"How did you get a credit card? We don't have the new aliases yet."

"I used the last alias."

"John Connor! What were you thinking?"

He put the pliers down and held up his hands in defense. " Wait a minute, mom. Just wait. I covered my tracks "

"Make it quick."

"I ordered the cards from my laptop on an advertisement from campus. My hard drive gets wiped every night so the police won't get anything off of it to connect my computer to the cards or school. Campus had a campaign going at the time I ordered them so the credit card companies were flooded with requests and won't be able to remember me applying, especially since I did it online. Campus had only my name, not my photo. I hacked into the school and erased my records. Classes were so large, the professors don't know me. I sent the credit cards to Charley's house instead of our old address to throw them off of us. Charley checked the cards for tracking devices before he gave them to me, and we drove out to Riverside where I used a payphone to activate them. Then he took me out to a jewelry store in Brea to buy the rings. We made sure to not enter the store at the same time and used hats to help hide us from their security cameras. I pointed them out before we went into the store and we made sure to avoid them picking us up. I hacked into the security system of the store that night and neither Charley nor I were caught on camera. The store had several specials going on that day and they were packed full of people. I doubt if a salesman will remember me by name or face. After I bought the rings, Charley and I drove out to Anaheim. There was still some money left on the cards so I ditched the cards out the window after wiping off my fingerprints. I doubt if anyone but a homeless person will find them. Charley has been throwing his mail and his neighbors', away in a dumpster near Burbank and has reported his mail stolen to the authorities." John took a breath.

"So, lets recap. Computer was wiped, campus records have been wiped, credit cards companies only have my old name and a fake address. Charley has dumped his mail and his neighbor's mail far away from his home or ours and reported the mail stolen so he is blameless. The cards themselves are clean and have been ditched, the store doesn't have me or Charley on camera, the salesman won't remember me, the cards were not connected to any phone of mine... There should be no link between those cards, John Sanders or John Connor."

Sarah fumed but said nothing for a moment. "You brought Charley into this? That was stupid. The FBI will trace the cards to his address, they will interrogate him and watch him for months. We are now out of medical personnel so you better hope that no one ends up seriously injured. We've tossed Charley back into the lion's den and the whole purpose in leaving him was to protect him from us. I haven't done a very good job at keeping him at arm's distance but now you may have just gotten him arrested for assisting a criminal. We have to keep a low profile more than usual. We can't afford to use him regardless of who is hurt or how bad. It may be a year before you can speak to him now. You do understand that?"

John felt his pride vanish as he realized he truly screwed up. He had to remove Charley from his life to save them both. He may cost a member of their crew their life without Charley to intercept and he lost a personal friend in the end due to his own carelessness. He would not be able to invite Charley to his own wedding, letting alone asking him to be his best man, an idea that had rolled around in his head. He felt defeated and sad at the chaos he would cause Charley for his own selfish reasons. Even if Charley was found to not be an accomplice, he would still be watched. Sarah was right.

"You're right, I'm sorry. "

Changing the subject, Sarah looked at him intently. "Is she worth it? Is she worth the risk to you? You would risk Charley's life, possibly everyone's life to put on this charade, you and her. "

"It's not a charade, Mom, it's an engagement. "

Sarah scowled at him. "It's a cry for attention, John and it's a waste of time. We have 307 days until Judgment Day. I have agreed to our deal and I will keep my word but, we are running out of time meanwhile you and that girl want to piss off a day playing dress up."

John grit his teeth. "She's not "that girl", she's my fiancée, Mom and you did agree to our deal, this is part of it. We're not pissing off a day, we're getting married, it's supposed to be special. You are the one who said that stopping Skynet and preventing Judgment Day was our mission but this is our life. She is part of my life now, I love her and you just have to accept that in some way."

Sarah glared at him. "I don't have to accept it, John. I'll allow you to marry her but that's it."

John shook his head as he worked on the C4 packages. "I love her, mom. I'm happy with her, she makes me happy. Why can't that be enough for you? I wanted to go Vegas and get married in a drive-through but I knew you'd send Cam after me to stop me. You'd be mad that I didn't include you which is why I think you don't like her. I thought that if I did a wedding with everyone here then maybe it might make you happy too. Did it ever occur to you that on something this important that maybe I just wanted my mom with me?" He quickly continued before she could cut him off.

"If we fail, I'd like one really good thing to happen before Judgment Day. A good memory that I can turn to when things get bad and people die. Like how you always think of dad , and call for him in your sleep when you're stressed. You rely on his memory to help you get through it. I want Racheal to be my way through the bad; I want a memory of her smiling in a white dress to be what helps me get through."

Sarah remained quiet and stared off into space, a far off look in her eyes told John she was thinking of his father again.

John finished his task with the C4, noting every so often that Sarah did not move or come out of her trance. Maybe she was overcome by sadness or perhaps, just perhaps, he gave her something to think about. It wasn't easy to watch her give in to a moment a weakness and grieve but then again, it was not easy for him to bare his soul and tell her the truth, letting her in after he had spent so many years shutting her out.

John quietly packed the supplies away and put the explosives in their usual hiding places before returning to the kitchen. He slowly walked up to Sarah and gently hugged her to bring her out of her stupor. He felt her stir and lightly hug him back.


End file.
